tokamak

noun

to·​ka·​mak ˈtō-kə-ˌmak How to pronounce tokamak (audio) ˈtä- How to pronounce tokamak (audio)
variants or less commonly tokomak
: a toroidal device for producing controlled nuclear fusion that involves the confining and heating of a gaseous plasma by means of an electric current and magnetic field

Examples of tokamak in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web What the scientists are doing in South Korea will feed into the development of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in southern France, known as ITER, the world’s biggest tokamak which aims to prove the feasibility of fusion. Laura Paddison, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024 Different Designs Setups for magnetic-confinement fusion are not necessarily limited to tokamaks. Philip Ball, Scientific American, 16 May 2023 In a tokamak or a stellarator, the hot plasma is limited to a density of 10 14 deuterons per cubic centimeter. Bayarbadrakh Baramsai, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Feb. 2022 An animation showing how tokamaks generate nuclear fusion energy. Angela Dewan, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024 In the 1950s, scientists created various magnetic-confinement fusion devices, the most well known of which were Andrei Sakharov’s tokamak and Lyman Spitzer’s stellarator. Bayarbadrakh Baramsai, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Feb. 2022 For more than 70 years, fusion research has largely focused on mimicking the inside of the sun in reactors known as tokamaks, which trap superhot hydrogen gas within strong magnetic fields so that atoms will collide and fuse. Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Magnetic confinement uses electromagnets to confine plasma, typically inside a tokamak. IEEE Spectrum, 15 July 2023 But with a tokamak, touching the side triggers an immediate reaction that can take the whole tokamak offline in an instant. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 13 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tokamak.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Russian, from toroidal'naya kamera s aksial'nym magnitnym polem (toroidal chamber with an axial magnetic field)

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tokamak was in 1965

Dictionary Entries Near tokamak

Cite this Entry

“Tokamak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tokamak. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

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