From Electrojet to ITER: India's Journey in Experimental Plasma Physics

Abstract

India has an international presence in Plasma Physics and its diverse applications such as thermonuclear fusion, material processing, strategic and environmental applications and plasma devices. From a modest start in the early 1970s, we have made great strides in the field of experimental plasma physics. Capacity building in techniques relevant to plasma production, manipulation and parameter control, pulsed power, creation of magnetic fields of complex geometries, clean vacuum and pumping systems, development and deployment of diagnostics to enable understanding of fundamental processes in plasmas and computer simulation to model plasma phenomena have been truly remarkable. Parallel to this, a community of physicists, engineers and computer experts has grown and matured. Funding mechanisms and financial support essential to broad base the research and development activity by drawing in Universities and education institutes have been nucleated. It is through these activities that the human resource and technology development essential to sustain India's ambitious forays into magnetic confinement fusion and industrial and strategic plasma applications has taken place. This paper is an attempt to give a historical perspective to this journey, which started at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and later, involved the Institute for Plasma Research at Gandhinagar, many DAE Institutions, IITs and Universities.