The central component of a tokamak is a vacuum chamber where hydrogen is heated to extremely high temperatures and transformed into plasma. The chamber has the shape of a torus (‘donut’) with a D-shaped cross-section.

Plasma is an electrical conductor. The current flowing through electromagnetic coils creates a toroidal magnetic field inside the torus and induces a circular current in the plasma, which generates poloidal magnetic field lines around it.

However, due to plasma instability, scientists have so far been unable to achieve economically viable nuclear fusion,» the researcher explained.

In his published preprint, Abdukadyrov demonstrated that when a thin current-carrying wire is bent into a loop, the magnetic field lines take the form of curves with a constant width.

According to the scientist, the magnetic field lines around the circular current in tokamaks also naturally take this shape.

However, the magnetic field created by D-shaped coils changes the natural geometry of these magnetic lines, stretching them along the main axis and compressing them in the transverse direction.

The study suggests that this forced deformation of the magnetic field lines generated by the circular current disrupts the balance of forces in the plasma and may be the main cause of various types of instability.

Therefore, according to Abdukadyrov, achieving industrial-scale fusion energy may require changing the shape of tokamak vacuum chambers and coils. The cross-section of the chamber, he suggests, should also follow the shape of a constant-width curve.

Controlled nuclear fusion is a process of generating energy through the merging of light atomic nuclei, such as hydrogen isotopes, at extremely high temperatures while maintaining control over the reaction.

This is the same process that occurs inside stars. Under enormous temperatures and pressure, hydrogen nuclei combine to form heavier elements, releasing large amounts of energy.

Scientists are attempting to reproduce this process on Earth to create a new source of energy. Hydrogen isotopes — deuterium and tritium — are being considered as fuel for fusion reactors. Deuterium can be extracted from water, while tritium can be produced inside the reactor. Such facilities are expected to generate large amounts of energy while producing significantly less long-lived radioactive waste.