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HAROLD P. FURTH
January 13, 1 930-February 21, 2002
BY T. KENNETH FOWLER
HAROED FURTH, AN AMERICAN giant in the worIcl of fusion
research, flier! of heart failure in Philaclelphia on
February 2l, 2002. He is burial in Princeton, where he
spent most of his career at the Princeton University Plasma
Physics Laboratory. Haroic! en c! I were collaborators in the
pursuit of fusion energy, at Princeton in his case, at Livermore
in mine. I am cleeply saciclenecl by his cleath en cl honored
to be the one to record his career for the National Academy
of Sciences.
HaroIcl was electecl to the Academy in 1976 for his many
achievements in plasma physics, the underlying discipline
for the magnetic confinement approach to harness nuclear
fusion energy. From graduate school clays HaroIcl's forte
was a creep unclerstancling of magnetic fielcis, one of the
areas in which plasma physics has enriched other disciplines,
especially astrophysics. This served him well in his fusion
career, in inventing new concepts en c! in unclerstancling
the ultimately successful tokamak involving in part currents
created by the plasma itself. ("Tokamak" is a Russian acronym
for a nuclear fusion crevice in which a plasma is confiner! in
a toroicial tube by a magnetic fielcI.)
Harold's main contribution to magnetic fusion research
35
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B I O G RA P H I C A L
EMOIRS
was the tokamak fusion test reactor (TFTR), which he
proposal in 1973, en cl which proviclecl the first definitive
demonstration of controllecl fusion energy in 1993-94, pro-
clucing 10 megawatts of fusion power for about one seconc!
in a plasma of equal parts deuterium and tritium, the DT
fuel of future fusion reactors. It was HaroIcl who conceived
the design concept that won the project for Princeton, en c!
it was he who lecl the project to success, first as chief scientist
and finally as director of the Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory from 1981 until he stepper! clown for meclical
reasons in 1990.
The TFTR is far en cl away the most important accom-
plishment in the 50-year history of magnetic fusion research
in the Unitecl States. The origin of TFTR in 1973, finally
approval for construction in 1976, was a milestone in HaroIcl's
career. At the time, magnetic fusion was an emerging research
program following early success with tokamaks in the Soviet
Union en cl a sequel at Princeton. New management at the
Atomic Energy Commission, seeing an opportunity for
~ .. . .. . ~ .. ..
1 1 ,
lunching In tne wake or tne Ott crisis of that time, was cleter-
minecl to embark on a tokamak experiment with actual DT
fusion reactions, not just a simulation with ordinary hyciro-
gen plasmas as in all past experiments, the nearer to a
power reactor the better. Young physicists at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory rose to the challenge, while Princeton
worried whether a facility with radioactive tritium was com-
patible with the campus environment, and all of us were
concerned that the Oak Ridge proposal was too much to
tackle.
Things came to a heacl at a meeting I attenclecl in Washing-
ton in late 1973. By then Haroic! was prepared. One issue
was leakage of heat through electrons, most mysterious of
the many mysteries plasmas hoIcI, en cl something HaroIcl
hac! hoper! to ens! run a theme he continued to pursue in
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HAROLD P. FURTH
37
his defense of TFTR in the late 199Os as the place to stucly
direct heating of DT ions by the energetic alpha particles
proclucecl by fusion reactions without recourse to electrons
as the intermediary. Along this line in 1971 HaroicI, John
Dawson, en cl Frecl Tenney publishecl a paper about a concept,
callecl the two-component torus, whereby fusion energy wouIcl
be proclucec! clirectly by fusion reactions of energetic neutral
beams with ions in a plasma, again without the neecl to
heat electrons to fusion-reaction temperatures. At a crucial
point in the meeting after the attendees hac! begun to accept
something less than ignition as the goal, HaroIcl went to
the board, saying, "If that's all you want." He then outlinecl
the TFTR proposal that lee! in 1986 to a new recorc! tempera-
ture of 200 million degrees Celsius, en cl in December 1993
to more than 6 megawatts of fusion power for a second or
so, en c! the design goal of 10 megawatts a few months later.
HaroIcl Furth was born in Vienna, Austria, on January
13, 1930. After studying at the Ecole Internationale in Geneva
he immigrates! in 1941 with his parents to the Uniter! States,
where he gracluatecl at the heacl of his class from the Hill
School in 1947. He then entered Harvard University, where
he completer! graduate studies in 1956, with an intervening
year at Cornell. His introduction to physics came through
his experiments identifying cosmic rays in photographic
emulsions permeates! by high magnetic fielcis.
After Harvard HaroIcl workocl at the University of Cali-
fornia Racliation Laboratory at Berkeley en cl Livermore from
1956 to 1967. There he soon began the fruitful collaboration
with Stirling Colgate that lecl to HaroIcl's first experimental
work on plasma confinement devices that might eventually
serve as fusion reactors, initially in a linear pinch in which
the mutual attraction of parallel currents in a plasma applies
a constricting force that confines the plasma column. Insta-
bility of the pinch had inspired an improved version with
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B I O G RA P H I C A L
EMOIRS
an externally applied magnetic field parallel to the current.
When this too exhibited unstable turbulence, probably clue
to plasma resistivity omitted in the theory, Furth en cl Colgate
proceeclec! in a totally different direction with the invention
of the levitron, a large conclucting ring levitatecl in space
en cl charged with a current that proviclecl confinement for
a plasma surrounding the ring, without resort to the internal
force of plasma currents usecl in the pinch crevice. HaroIcl
later constructed a levitron callecl FM-] at Princeton.
Meanwhile, the importance of resistivity not lost on him.
HaroIcl proviclecl the conceptual basis for a theory of resis-
tive instabilities in magnetically confined plasmas, publishecl
jointly with John Killeen en c! Marshall Rosenbluth in 1963.
Characteristically HaroIcl hacl been able to visualize what
happens when twisting plasma columns in turn twist magnetic
field! lines embeciclec! in them, causing localizes! sheet currents
neeclecl to prevent the tearing en cl reconnection of the fielcl
lines. Resistivity clestroys these sheet currents, allowing tearing
to happen, at a rate enhancer! by the thinness of the sheet
currents. Resistive instability turned out to play an impor-
tant role in natural phenomena, such as the Earth's magneto-
taiT and other aspects of solar physics and cosmology. Applying
resistive instability theory in this way was an early example
of cross-fertilization of plasma physics Earned from fusion
research with other fielcis of science.
During a year-Ion" workshop at Trieste in 1965-66, HaroIcl
joined Soviet colleagues Roalcl Sagcleev en cl Alex Galeev in
showing how Coulomb collisions among plasma particles
could transport them across the magnetic field of devices
like the Soviet tokamak much faster than they couIcl in
icleaTizec! moclels, by virtue of complicates! particle orbits in
the twisted magnetic fielcl of the tokamak. It was Furth who
dubbed these distorted orbits "bananas," as he had pictured
them in thinking through the transport process, now caller!
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HAROLD P. FURTH
39
neoclassical transport. While neoclassical transport clegracles
heat confinement of the ions, it also later became the basis
for others to predict en cl then measure the self-generatecl
"bootstrap" current in tokamaks that greatly climinishec! the
requirement for external power to maintain the current in
a steacly-state tokamak.
After arriving at Princeton in 1967 as professor of astro-
physical sciences en cl co-heacl of the Experimental Division
at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, HaroIcl assumed
leaclership in planning new experiments, shortly before the
breakthrough announcement in 1968 that the Soviets hacl
achieved a record temperature of 10 million degrees Celsius
in one of the tokamak crevices caller! T-3. Haroic! first clic!
not believe the Soviet claims, blaming the results on run-
away electrons that clicl eventually prove to be the explanation
of another crevice touter! by the Soviets, caller! TM-3.
Once convinced HaroIcl quickly lecl the Princeton labo-
ratory toward proposals for three tokamaks, one by converting
their largest stellerator into a tokamak en c! two new crevices-
the adiabatic toroicial compressor that wouIcl provide acicli-
tional heating by squeezing the plasma, en cl the Princeton
large torus (PLT) in which the plasma wouic! be heater! by
neutral beams created by accelerating ions to the energies
required for fusion en cl then neutralizing them in flight, to
be captures! in the plasma when they become ionizer! again
by collisions with plasma electrons en cl ions. All three pro-
posals were funded by the government, leading to a quick
confirmation of the Soviet results at Princeton in 1970 en c!
record tokamak temperatures exceeding 60 million degrees
Celsius sufficient for fusion ignition in the PLT in 1978.
Harold never stopped inventing improved magnetic con-
figurations, such as the bean-shaped tokamak with improved
stability properties (PBX-M) in 1985, and the spheromak
that is totally self-generated by currents inside the plasma.
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B I O G RA P H I C A L
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After TFTR began experiments with real cleuterium en c!
tritium (DT) fuel, HaroIcl also pursuccl new ways to enhance
fusion power procluction without relying solely on thermal
reactions in a DT plasma with equilibrates! temperatures
among all particle constituents.
Even before becoming the director of the Princeton
Plasma Physics Laboratory, Haroic! hac! emerges! as the
intellectual leacler of magnetic fusion research in the Unitecl
States en cl a tireless acivocate for fusion energy. The esteem
accorclec! him by colleagues is evident in remarks at a
memorial service at Princeton a few months after his cleath.
"HaroIcl Furth was a special person, in a special place, at a
special time," notes! Anne Davies, current director of the
Office of Fusion Energy Sciences at the Department of Energy.
"Scintillating" is the worcl Marshall Rosenbluth chose to
describe HaroicI. "When he came into a room or joiner! a
discussion, the air fairly cracklecl with wit, logic, scientific
insight, en cl forceful leaclership. Everybocly's creativity level
went up in an effort to keep up with HaroicI."
HaroIcl's protege en cl currently director of the Princeton
laboratory, Rob GoIciston, spoke for most of us. "HaroIcl
was a giant of fusion science, a person of untiring energy
en cl bouncIless optimism. He buoyocl all of us. HaroIcl lecl
the U.S. fusion program to tremendous growth in the 1970's
en c! 1980's. IncleecI, many of the scientific accomplishments
even in the 1990's are the result of his leaclership. We will
all miss him."
As in everything else he touched, Harold was a bril-
liantly successful laboratory director and an influential,
respected leader in the international fusion community.
Perhaps his greatest disappointment as director was a failure
to procure funcling for the compact ignition tokamak (CIT)
as a follow-on to TFTR and, as the name implies, the first
demonstration of a plasma that burner! by itself. Haroic!
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HAROLD P. FURTH
41
hac! garnered! strong support from the U.S. fusion commu-
nity, but as Washington en cl the public lost interest in energy
in the 1980s, CIT was not to be, despite strong recommencia-
tions for a revival of the iclea by the Fusion Policy Advisory
Committee of 1990, chaired by Guy Stever. That committee
clicl recommencl immediate funcling for DT operation in
TFTR, Tong clelayocI, en c! that was clone, as relater! above.
HaroIcl was a revered mentor en cl colleague of young
scientists, inclucling experimentalist Rob GoIciston, theorist
Nathaniel Fisch, en c! many others. He hell! some 20 patents,
primarily in the areas of controllecl magnetic fusion tech-
nology en cl metal forming with puIsecl magnetic fielcis. He
publisher! over 190 technical papers.
HaroIcl served on numerous government committees over
the years en cl on scientific advisory committees at other
laboratories, inclucling the Max Planck Geselischaft. He server!
on the Board of Editors for the following journals: Nuclear
Fusion, Plasma Physics en c! Con tro]]ec! Fusion, Journal of
Fusion Energy, Reviews of Modern Physics, en c! Physics of
F]uicis At the National Academy of Sciences' National
Research Council he was a member of the Board on Physics
en c! Astronomy of the Division on Engineering en c! Physical
Sciences.
HaroIcl was a fellow of the American Physical Society,
the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
en cl the American Academy of Arts en cl Sciences. He received
the E. O. Lawrence Memorial Awarcl from the U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission in ~ 974, the James Clerk Maxwell Awarc!
from the American Physical Society in ~ 983, the Joseph
Priestly Awarcl from Dickinson College in 1985, en cl the
Delmer S. Fahrney Mecial from the Committee on Science
en cl the Arts of the Franklin Institute in 1992.
On a personal level HaroIcl will long be remembered
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B I O G RA P H I C A L
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for his engaging wit, always kinc! if a little irreverent. It is
fitting to conclucle with an example, written in his twenties
when he first came to Livermore prior to his later move to
Princeton. This was his poem about Edward! Teller that was
publishecl in The New Yorker magazine in 1956, reprinted
in Teller's Memoirs:
Perils of Moclern Living
Well up beyond the tropostrata
There is a region stark en cl stellar
Where, on a streak of anti-matter,
Liver! Dr. Edward! Anti-Teller.
Remote from Fusion's origin,
He liver! unguessec! en c! unawares
With all his anti-kith en cl kin,
An cl kept macassars on his chairs.
One morning, idling by the sea,
He spiecl a tin of monstrous girth
That bore three letters: A.E.C.
Out stepped a visitor from Earth.
Then, shouting glacITy o'er the sancis,
Met two who in their alien ways
Were like as lentils. Their right hands
Clasped, and the rest was gamma rays.
I WISH TO THANK colleagues quoted in this memoir and to express
appreciation for much assistance from Dolores Lawson of the Princeton
Plasma Physics Laboratory.
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HAROLD P. FURTH
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1955
Magnetic analysis of scattering particles. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 26:1097.
1956
43
With R. W. Waniek. Production and use of high transient magnetic
fields. I. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 27:195.
1957
With M. Levine and R. W. Waniek. Production and use of high
transient magnetic fields. II. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 28:949.
1958
With O. A. Anderson, W. R. Baker, S. A. Colgate, J. Ise, Jr., R. V.
Pyle, and R. E. Wright. Neutron production in linear deuterium
pinches. Phys. Rev. 109:612.
With S. A. Colgate and J. P. Ferguson. The stabilized pinch. Proceed-
ings of the Second United Nations International Conference on the Peaceful
Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva 32:129.
1959
With D. H. Birdsall. Pulsed 200 kilogauss magnet for accelerator
experiments. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 30:600.
1962
With M. A. Levine. Force-free coils and superconductors. 7. Appl.
Phys. 33:747.
1963
With J. Killeen and M. N. Rosenbluth. Finite-resistivity instabilities
of a sheet pinch. Phys. Fluids 6:459.
Existence of mirror machines stable against interchange modes.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 11:308.
1966
With D. H. Birdsall, R. J. Briggs, S. A. Colgate, and C. W. Hartman.
Shear stabilization in the levitron. Proceedings 2nd International
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B I O G RA P H I C A L
EMOIRS
Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research,
Culham, England, IAEA, Vienna 2:291.
1969
With A. A. Galeev, R. Z. Sagdeev, and M. N. Rosenbluth. Plasma
diffusion in a toroidal stellerator. Phys. Rev. Lett. 22:511.
1970
With S. Yoshikawa. Adiabatic compression of a tokamak discharge.
Phys. Fluids 13:2593.
1971
With T. M. Dawson and F. H. Tenney. Production of thermonuclear
power by non-Maxwellian ions in a closed magnetic field con-
figuration. Phys. Rev. Lett. 26:1156.
1975
Tokamak research. Nu cl. Fusion 15:487.
1977
With A. H. Glasser and P. H. Rutherford. Stabilization of resistive
kink modes in the tokamak. Phys. Rev. Lett. 38:234.
1978
With V. Arunasalam et al. Recent results from the PLT tokamak.
Controlled Fusion and Plasma Physics (Proceedings of the 8th European
Conference, Prague, 1 978J, Czechoslovakia Academy of Sciences 2:17.
1981
With M. Yamada, W. Hsu, A. Janos, S. Jardin, M. Okabayashi, J.
Sinnis, T. H. Stix, and K. Yamazaki. Quasistatic formation of the
spheromak plasma configuration. Phys. Rev. Lett. 46:188.
The tokamak. In Fusion, ed. E. Teller, vol. I, part A, chapter 3. New
York: Academic Press.
1983
Compact tori. Nu cl. Instrum. Methods 207:93.
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HAROLD P. FURTH
1984
45
With P. C. Efthimion et al. Initial confinement studies of ohmically
heated plasmas in the tokamak fusion test reactor. Phys. Rev. Lett.
52:1492.
1986
With M. Murakami et al. Confinement studies of neutral beam heated
discharges in TFTR. Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 28:17.
1 989
Objectives of the CIT project. 7. Fusion Energy 8:28.
1992
With R. J. Hawryluk et al. Status and plans for TFTR. Fusion Technol.
21:1324.
1994
With J. D. Strachan et al. Fusion power production from TFTR
plasmas fueled with deuterium and tritium. Phys. Rev. Lett. 72:3526.
With R. J. Hawryluk et al. Confinement and heating of a deuterium-
tritium plasma. Phys. Rev. Lett. 72:3530.
With R. J. Hawryluk et al. Review of recent D-T experiments from
TFTR. Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Plasma
Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research (Seville, Spain, 1994J
IAEA,Viennal:ll.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
fusion energy
