Lyman Spitzer

Lyman Spitzer was an American theoretical astrophysicist who advanced the study of interstellar matter, proposed the stellarator, and championed space-based telescopes.

Stellarator: A magnetic-confinement fusion device that uses twisted magnetic fields to confine plasma without requiring a large plasma current. Spitzer proposed this reactor design in 1951 to confine hot plasma steadily.
Magnetic confinement fusion: A fusion approach that uses magnetic fields to hold hot plasma away from material walls. The stellarator is one of the principal magnetic-confinement configurations Spitzer developed.
Yale University: A private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Spitzer earned his undergraduate degree at Yale before pursuing graduate work in astrophysics.
Plasma physics: The study of ionized gases and their interactions with electric and magnetic fields. Understanding plasma behavior is necessary to assess the confinement problem behind Spitzer's stellarator.
John N. Bahcall: An American astrophysicist known for theoretical work on solar neutrinos and the Hubble Space Telescope's scientific program. Bahcall later helped define key scientific goals for the telescope Spitzer had advocated.
Hubble Space Telescope: A space observatory launched in 1990 that observes the universe from Earth orbit. Spitzer's long campaign for a large space telescope helped lead to this observatory.
Stellarator confinement: A method of confining plasma with externally generated, three-dimensional magnetic fields in a stellarator. Its twisted magnetic geometry embodies Spitzer's solution to confining plasma without a strong current.
Princeton University: A private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Spitzer spent most of his academic career at Princeton and built its plasma physics program.
Magnetohydrodynamics: The study of electrically conducting fluids interacting with magnetic fields. Its equations describe how magnetic fields and conducting plasma move together in fusion devices.
James Van Allen: An American space scientist who discovered the radiation belts surrounding Earth. Van Allen's satellite discoveries strengthened the case for astronomical observations from space.

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