Compression of a Toroidal Plasma to Thermonuclear Ignition

In the worldwide controlled thermonuclear fusion research effort, ignition of a magnetically confined plasma is yet to be achieved. Consequently, it is not known whether a plasma's approach to ignition is associated with a change (degradation or enhancement) of the confinement of plasma energy. Knowledge of this, however, can have a significant impact on the design criteria (and thus cost) of the planned International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Fast adiabatic compression for producing short-time scale ignited toroidal plasmas is proposed as a means to gain this knowledge using existing resources.