The new PUFFIN facility at MIT is designed to deliver an intense pulse of electrical current to the center of a vacuum chamber, where it heats thin metal wires to the plasma state. We take pictures of the plasma using laser beams to understand how plasmas and magnetic fields interact.
Plasma makes up 99.9% of the visible matter in the Universe, and 100% of the matter in fusion reactor concepts here on Earth. Plasmas, made from charged electrons and ions, respond strongly to magnetic fields, which change how plasmas move and how they conduct heat. Detailed experiments on PUFFIN provide data to test theories and validate numerical simulations that can be used to explain the Universe we observe, and to design new fusion reactors.
This project is funded by the NSF and NNSA through PHY2108050, and by the NSF through PHY2339326.
