A tokamak is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field to confine a hot plasma in the shape of a torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices being developed to produce controlled thermonuclear fusion power.
Although practical fusion reactors have not been built yet, the necessary conditions of plasma temperature and heat insulation have been largely achieved, suggesting that fusion energy for electric-power production is now a serious possibility. Commercial fusion reactors promise an inexhaustible source of electricity for countries worldwide.
From a practical viewpoint, however, the initiation of nuclear fusion in a hot plasma is but the first step in a whole sequence of steps required to convert fusion energy to electricity. In the end, successful fusion power systems must be capable of producing electricity safely and in a cost-effective manner, with a minimum of radioactive waste and environmental impact. The quest for practical fusion energy remains one of the great scientific and engineering challenges of humankind.
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