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

It will draw on decades of work done by Germany's Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and its stellarator the W7-X.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

Well, if the design works, the twists and turns of a stellarator make the burning hot plasma easier to control than in the rival tokamak design, 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

“In Europe, we're working on the stellarator as a backup to the tokamak.”

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