Electron Bernstein Wave (EBW) Heating

EBW heating reaches the dense core of a spherical tokamak where ordinary microwaves can't penetrate — a natural heating and current-drive tool for Kronos.

What

A plasma wave that heats dense (overdense) plasmas

Why ST

Spherical tokamaks are 'overdense' to normal microwaves

Uses

Core heating and current drive

Fit

Well suited to the low-field ST regime

In a spherical tokamak the plasma is often "overdense" — its density is high relative to its magnetic field, so ordinary electromagnetic microwaves reflect off the edge and can't reach the core. The electron Bernstein wave (EBW) is a special plasma wave that can propagate in that regime, carrying energy to the dense core where other methods fail.

That makes EBW a natural heating and current-drive tool for the spherical-tokamak class Kronos MetroVolt belongs to. Along with high-harmonic fast waves and neutral beams, it is part of the toolkit for reaching fusion temperatures and sustaining non-inductive current in the low-field, high-density conditions of the design.