How a tokamak works: a 3D guide
Inspect ITER’s D-shaped coils, central solenoid and vacuum vessel.
Principle and characteristics
A tokamak confines a ring-shaped plasma away from the wall using magnetic fields. External coils and current in the plasma contribute to confinement. Coils, the vacuum vessel and first wall perform distinct jobs; select them separately to trace the layers from the plasma outward.
Rotate the model. Explore the structure.
Select parts to inspect their position and purpose.
Tokamak — look inside
The model loads when you choose to open it.
You can read the guide before loading 3D.
An independently authored educational model based on public references. It does not reproduce exact dimensions, private designs, or calculated fields and particle trajectories. Plasma and beams are static position guides; cutaway and exploded views are not maintenance procedures.
Follow the principle, part by part
TF coils around the vessel
Select the 18 D-shaped TF coils, then compare them with the central solenoid and PF coils. They occupy different positions and serve different magnetic roles.
First wall and blanket
Isolate the blanket to inspect curved modules and small face tiles. The 440 representative sections do not reproduce ITER’s detailed engineering layout or openings.
Divertor at the bottom
Inspect the 54 cassettes with inner and outer targets and a central dome. Isolate the divertor and open the cutaway to examine its U-shaped section.
Enabling technologies
- Superconducting magnets, power supplies and force support
- Vacuum engineering, cooling, tungsten surfaces and remote maintenance
Experiments and institutions
The geometry approximates ITER. JT-60SA is also a tokamak, but has different dimensions, objectives and equipment; this is not a JT-60SA model.
Questions for research and development
Confinement, exhaust, material lifetime and maintainability must work together. Plasma performance in an experiment is different from net electricity delivered by an entire plant.
Primary sources and model scope
The geometry approximates ITER. JT-60SA is also a tokamak, but has different dimensions, objectives and equipment; this is not a JT-60SA model.
These independently authored educational reconstructions use public references. Static plasma and beam shapes explain positions; they are not field or particle simulations. Devices are not shown at a common scale, and their appearance does not establish power performance.
Compare other approaches
These categories overlap: FRC names a magnetic configuration, while MTF describes compression of magnetized fuel. They are different classification axes, so a compression experiment can also use an FRC.