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

See Examples For:

stellarator

At another one, in Bavaria, Proxima Fusion wants to build a device called a stellarator that would contain the plasma with a twisting arrangement of super-powerful magnets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 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 notable example is the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Greifswald, Germany, completed in 2015 and now operating again after a three-year upgrade.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 5, 2023

In a stellarator the plasma is sent on a twisting path through the machine.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2023

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

From Fifty Per Cent Prophet by Randall Garrett