Episode 11: The Técnico Tokamak
It was transported to Lisbon in the late 1980s and adapted to help create a “new chapter in the history of nuclear fusion engineering and physics in Portugal”. Silence, vacuum and heat: electrons colliding with ions and transferring energy to them, as if they were people running into each other in the street. The Técnico Tokamak, also called ISTTOK, is contributing to what is one of the great challenges facing experimental physics today: trying to create a safe source of energy by reproducing on earth the process that powers the stars. And, as if that weren’t enough, it is also sought after by students from all over the world for the unique possibilities it offers for experimental teaching.
The story of the Técnico Tokamak in the 11th episode of the podcast “110 Stories | 110 Objects”, which marks the 110th anniversary of the Instituto Superior Técnico.