Basic issues on tokamak plasma magnetic control

Aim of this paper is to give an introductory overview of what is typically called the "plasma magnetic control problem" in tokamak machines. Tokamaks are devices with a toroidal symmetry; these devices are, at the present, the most promising for producing nuclear fusion between two atoms on earth. Among the many technological and theoretical problems to solve, a significant part is represented by controlrelated problems. Indeed, in tokamak machines, there are quite a number of problems that need the expertise of control theoreticians to be tackled; this paper deals with the most mature and assessed of these problems: plasma current, position and shape control. © 2008 IEEE