The short story is that there are basically two popular configurations of potential nuclear fusion reactors: The Tokamak, created by the USSR in in 1968, and an earlier design, the Stellarator, invented by American scientist Lyman Spitzer of Princeton University, which began operating in 1953 and demonstrated plasma confinement in 1951. Both of these designs had “issues.” The dynamics of the Stellarator had early success, but its operation was simply too complex for the physicists at that time to understand. The Tokamak also had early success, but had the same issues, and still does.
Fast-forward to modern times. Current computer simulations allow the Stellarator designers to model the operation of their fusion reactor and optimize it. The Tokamak’s problems appeared to be simpler on the surface, but the physics were much more complex, thus its issues remain to be simulated and understood.
This paper focus on the evolution of the Stellarator, recent advances and plans for its future.