A Critical Comparison Between Magnetic and Inertial Confinement Schemes and Their Geometries

The interaction mechanism between the plasma and magnetic field in a tokamak does not provide complete magnetic confinement as is usually imagined. Also, the toroidal geometry itself is not particularly well suited for containing a hot plasma. Qualitative arguments reveal an intrinsic superiority of the inertial confinement spherical geometry over any geometry of magnetic confinement for fusion purposes. Moreover, from the point of view of applications, spherical devices such as the inertial electrostatic confinement device and the inertial confinement fusion-spherical pinch are giving immediate spin-offs of industrial interest.