Plasma disruptions Tokamaks are subject to events known as "disruptions" that cause confinement to be lost in milliseconds. There are two primary mechanisms. In one, the "vertical displacement event" (VDE), the entire plasma moves vertically until it touches the upper or lower section of the vacuum chamber. In the other, the "major disruption", long wavelength, non-axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamical instabilities cause the plasma to be forced into non-symmetrical shapes, often squeezed into the top and bottom of the chamber.
Plasma disruptions Tokamaks are subject to events known as "disruptions" that cause confinement to be lost in milliseconds. There are two primary mechanisms In one, the "vertical displacement event" (VDE), the entire plasma moves vertically until it touches the upper or lower section of the vacuum chamber. In the other, the "major disruption", long wavelength, non-axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamical instabilities cause the plasma to be forced into non-symmetrical shapes, often squeezed into the top and bottom of the chamber.