Burning Plasma & Alpha Heating
The state of a fusion plasma where thermal heating from 3.5 MeV alpha particles produced in Deuterium-Tritium fusion reactions becomes the dominant heat source sustaining the plasma.
Governing formula
P_alpha / P_heating ≥ 50% (Burning Plasma Condition Q ≥ 10)
SI unit
MW (Alpha Particle Heating Power)
In depth
D-T fusion produces a 14.1 MeV neutron and a 3.5 MeV ⁴He alpha particle. Uncharged neutrons escape to generating blankets, while charged alpha particles are magnetically trapped, transferring energy to background plasma electrons to achieve self-sustaining burning plasma.
Examples in the real world
ITER aiming for Q = 10 burning plasma where 100 MW of alpha heating sustains 500 MW total fusion output.