Plasma Science

Plasma, the most common state of matter in the universe, exhibits complex and rich physics phenomena, including waves, turbulence, and interactions with materials. Studying plasmas is critical to advance technology development for practical purposes as developing functional fusion reactors and to understand the processes in stars, planets, and inter-stellar space. PSFC scientists and students advance plasma physics using cutting-edge facilities and large-scale computation with an aim of obtaining comprehensive predictive understanding of plasmas in a variety of situations.

PUFFIN, MIT

Basic Plasma Experiments with Pulsed Power

Pulsed-power is used to drive a diverse range of plasma physics experiments, from producing x-rays for inertial confinement fusion, to recreating the conditions inside extreme astrophysical phenomena. more

Basic plasma theory & simulation

When flowing plasmas interact with solid objects, a wake is formed. Examples of such interactions include probes and other structures in the outer regions of magnetic fusion plasmas. more

High-energy-density physics

High-Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) is the study of matter under extreme states of pressure (~ 1 Mbar to 1000 Gbar, or one million to one trillion times the atmospheric pressure at Earth’s surface). more

Plasma material interactions

Plasma-material interactions are studied at the PSFC on dedicated experiments at the CSTAR ion accelerator facility and on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. more

Plasma theory & computation

Understanding plasmas requires theoretical framework and numerical simulations run on large computers. The PSFC theory and simulation group develops fundamental plasma physics concepts as part of the national fusion program and for advancement of plasma science in general. more

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