stellarator

American  

[stel-uh-rey-ter] / ˈstɛl əˌreɪ tər /

noun

Physics.

1. an experimental plasma-physics device in which magnetic fields confine the plasma within a tube shaped like a figure eight.

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stellarator British  

/ ˈstɛləˌreɪtə /

noun

1. physics an apparatus used in research into thermonuclear reactions, consisting of a toroidal vessel designed so that a plasma may be contained within it by a helical magnetic field. The magnetic field is produced by current-carrying coils

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Etymology

Origin of stellarator

1951; stellar + (gener)ator, so named because the reactions produced resemble those in stars

Example Sentences

Proxima's "dumb machine" will be a stellarator called Alpha.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

"A stellarator is a thing that is objectively very difficult to design, objectively very difficult to build. But if you do it, it is a dumb machine... just like a microwave oven," says Sciortino.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

PPPL's Head of Digital Engineering, Michael Churchill, uses machine learning to improve the design of another type of fusion reactor, a stellarator.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2024

“A stellarator has some advantages, but technically it's a more complicated device,” Donné says.

From Scientific American • Jun. 5, 2023

The Big Bend Power Reactor, near Marfa, Texas, had been warned that their stellarator would blow.

From Fifty Per Cent Prophet by Garrett, Randall