Upgrades to the 4-strap ICRF Antenna in Alcator C-Mod

A 4-strap ICRF antenna suitable for plasma heating and current drive has been designed and fabricated for the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. Initial operation in plasma was limited by high metallic impurity injection resulting from front surface arcing between protection tiles and from current straps to Faraday shields. Antenna modifications were made in February 2000, resulting in impurity reduction, but low-heating efficiency was observed when the antenna was operated in its 4-strap rather than a 2-strap configuration. Further modifications were made in July 2000, with the installation of BN plasma-facing tiles and radio- frequency bypassing of the antenna backplane edges and ends to reduce potential leakage coupling to plasma surface modes. Good heating efficiency was now observed in both heating configurations, but coupled power was limited to 2.5 MW in H-mode, 3 MW in L-mode, by plasma-wall interactions. Additional modifications were started in February 2001 and will be completed by this meeting. All the above upgrades and their effect on antenna performance will be presented

Recent results from the electron cyclotron heated plasmas in Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV)

In noninductively driven discharges, 0.9 MW second harmonic (X2) off-axis co-electron cyclotron current drive deposition is combined with 0.45 MW X2 central heating to create an electron internal transport barrier (eITB) in steady plasma conditions resulting in a 1.6-fold increase of the confinement time (tau(Ee)) over ITER-98L-mode scaling. The eITB is associated with a reversed shear current profile enhanced by a large bootstrap current fraction (up to 80%) and is sustained for up to 10 current redistribution times. A linear dependence of the confinement improvement on the product of the global shear reversal factor (q(0)/q(min)) and the reversed shear volume (rho(q-min)(2)) is shown. In other discharges heated with X2 the sawteeth are destabilized (respectively stabilized) when heating just inside (respectively outside) the q=1 surface. Control of the sawteeth may allow the avoidance of neoclassical tearing modes that can be seeded by the sawtooth instability. Results on H-mode and highly elongated plasmas using the newly completed third harmonic (X3) system and achieving up to 100% absorption are also discussed, along with comparison of experimental results with the TORAY-GA ray tracing code [K. Matsuda, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. PS-17, 6 (1989); R. H. Cohen, Phys. Fluids 30, 2442 (1987)]. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics

Working Memory Underpins Cognitive Development, Learning, and Education

Working memory is the retention of a small amount of information in a readily accessible form. It facilitates planning, comprehension, reasoning, and problem-solving. I examine the historical roots and conceptual development of the concept and the theoretical and practical implications of current debates about working memory mechanisms. Then I explore the nature of cognitive developmental improvements in working memory, the role of working memory in learning, and some potential implications of working memory and its development for the education of children and adults. The use of working memory is quite ubiquitous in human thought, but the best way to improve education using what we know about working memory is still controversial. I hope to provide some directions for research and educational practice