ATOMIC, IONIC AND MOLECULAR DATA IN THERMO-NUCLEAR FUSION RESEARCH

Abstract
All high temperature hydrogen (isotopes) plasmas investigated in the frame of thermo-nuclear fusion research contain impurities like carbon, oxygen, iron,... These particles influence the plasma properties and give rise to additional undesired energy losses. It is shown how the atomic properties enter into the general balance equations describing a plasma. These equations serve for deriving the ignition and Lawson condition of a D-T fusion reactor as a function of impurity concentration and element. Graphical representations show how the fusion conditions depend on impurities. It follows a discussion of the equations applied in the spectroscopic diagnostics of plasmas and especially for determining the impurity concentrations by spectroscopic means. All equations are formulated in terms of relevant atomic data. The last section deals with molecular data which are of interest in thermo-nuclear fusion research.