Superconducting toroidal magnets for fusion feasibility experiments and power reactors

It has been recognized that large superconducting magnets will have to be developed in order to obtain power economically from a thermonuclear reactor.In the present paper, we offer compelling reasons to illustrate how vital they are even for the sizes envisioned for hydrogen feasibility and D-T burning experiments.Detailed discussion is given on the type of magnets used for the plasma confinement in a tokamak-type machine.Illustrations are given to show that their development is within the present technological progress of superconductivity.The methods used to estimate the cost of such a toroidal system are provided along with how the cost varies vith changes in.magnet aspect ratio, major radius, and stored energy.The latter quantity is presented as a valid figure of merit for quickly estimating the cost of any large superconducting toroidal system.