Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics

The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP after the founding name of Institute of Plasma Physics ) in Garching near Munich and its sub-institute in Greifswald devoted to the study of the physical basis for a fusion power plant. The IPP is an institute of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science and an Associate Member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. IPP was established in 1960 in Garching first in the legal form of a limited liability company ( GmbH), and the Max Planck Society and the physicist Werner Heisenberg as a shareholder. In 1971 the Institute was then incorporated into the Max- Planck Society. In 1994, the Greifswald branch was established. Since 1961, the IPP is part of the "European fusion research program ", which is coordinated by the European Atomic Energy Community ( EURATOM). In 1999, the European Fusion Development Agreement was signed that cooperation between EURATOM and the European Commission regulates. Funding support of the Institute are the European Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the states of Bavaria and Mecklenburg- Vorpommern.

With approximately 1,100 employees, including about 700 in Garching and Greifswald in 400, the IPP is one of the largest centers of fusion research in Europe. The current nine scientific areas of the Institute examine the inclusion of hydrogen plasmas of high temperature in magnetic fields, develop systems for plasma heating and measurement methods for the analysis of plasma properties, deal with plasma theory, magnetic field technology, materials science, plasma -wall interaction and data acquisition and processing, and Systematic studies on the merger. The Institute also has four research groups as well as working groups " Plasma Diagnostics " at the Humboldt University in Berlin, " Electron Spectroscopy " in Berlin and " surface processes " at the University of Bayreuth. Together with the Ernst- Moritz- Arndt- University of Greifswald is the Greifswald branch support the " International Max Planck Research School for Bounded plasma ", a training program for graduate students in the field of plasma physics. Scientific and directors were Alexander Bradshaw and Friedrich Wagner.

Among the major fusion experiments in the history of the IPP include the stellarator systems Wendelstein 2a ( 1968 to 1974 ), Wendelstein 7 -A ( 1976 to 1985 ), and the Wendelstein 7- AS ( 1988 to 2002 ) and the tokamak devices pulsator ( 1973-1979 ) and ASDEX (1980 to 1990). Today in Garching is the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak operated (since 1991 ), the largest German fusion device; at the Greifswald branch of the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X is built. The IPP also participates in the world (since 1983) in the British Culham, which is currently the largest fusion device also essential in the scientific operation of the European Community experiment the Joint European Torus ( JET). Among the plans for the ITER international test reactor ( Latin for " the way"), whose construction began in 2009, the IPP has contributed essential basics. Also the operation of the plant will accompany the scientific institute.

Publications

Since 1999, the Institute publishes the newsletter energy perspectives.