Editing Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (section)

{{Short description|National laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science at Princeton, New Jersey}}
{{Infobox laboratory
|name             = Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
|image            = PPPL.svg
|established      = {{Start date and age|1961}}
|research_field   = [[Nuclear fusion|Fusion]], [[Plasma Physics]], [[Quantum Information Sciences]], [[Microelectronics]], [[Sustainability Sciences]]
|vice-president   = [[David J. McComas]]
|director         = [[Steven Cowley]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pppl.gov/news/press-releases/2018/06/10-questions-steven-cowley-new-director-princeton-plasma-physics|title=10 Questions for Steven Cowley, New Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory &#124; Princeton Plasma Physics Lab|website=www.pppl.gov}}</ref>
|budget           = $116 million (2021)
|address          = 100 Stellarator Road, [[Princeton, New Jersey]]
|city             = [[Plainsboro Township, New Jersey|Plainsboro Township]]
|state            = New Jersey
|country          = United States
|coordinates      = {{Coord|40.348825|N|74.602183|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|location_map     = USA New Jersey
|zipcode          = 08536
|campus           = Forrestal Campus
|operating_agency = [[U.S. Department of Energy]]
|nobel_laureates  = <!-- No. of Nobel Laureates for work done in lab -->
|website          = {{URL|https://www.pppl.gov|pppl.gov}}
|footnotes        =  
}}
'''Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory''' ('''PPPL''') is a [[United States Department of Energy]] [[United States Department of Energy National Labs|national laboratory]] for [[plasma physics]] and [[nuclear fusion]] science. Its primary mission is research into and development of [[fusion energy|fusion as an energy source]]. It is known for the development of the [[stellarator]] and [[tokamak]] designs, along with numerous fundamental advances in plasma physics and the exploration of many other plasma confinement concepts.

PPPL grew out of the top-secret [[Cold War]] project to control thermonuclear reactions, called '''Project Matterhorn'''. The focus of this program changed from [[H-bomb]]s to fusion power in 1951, when [[Lyman Spitzer]] developed the stellarator concept and was granted funding from the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] to study the concept. This led to a series of machines in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1961, after declassification, Project Matterhorn was renamed the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.<ref>Tanner, Earl C. (1977) ''Project Matterhorn: an informal history'' Princeton University Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, p. 77, {{OCLC|80717532}}.</ref>

PPPL's stellarators proved unable to meet their performance goals. In 1968, Soviet's claims of excellent performance on their tokamaks generated intense scepticism, and to test it, PPPL's [[Model C stellarator]] was converted to a tokamak. It verified the Soviet claims, and since that time, PPPL has been a worldwide leader in tokamak theory and design, building a series of record-breaking machines including the [[Princeton Large Torus]], [[Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor|TFTR]] and many others. Dozens of smaller machines were also built to test particular problems and solutions, including the ATC, [[National Spherical Torus Experiment|NSTX]], and [[Lithium Tokamak Experiment|LTX]].

PPPL is operated by [[Princeton University]] on the Forrestal Campus in [[Plainsboro Township, New Jersey]].