This paper addresses the history of JET, the Tokamak that reached the highest performances and the experiment that so far came closest to the eventual goal of a fusion reactor. The reader must be warned, however, that this document is not a comprehensive study of controlled thermonuclear fusion or even of JET. The next step on this road, the ITER project, is an experimental reactor. Actually, several prototypes will be required before a commercial reactor can be built. The fusion history is far from been finalised. JET is still in operation some 32 years after the first plasma and still has to provide answers to many questions before ITER takes the lead on research. Some physical interpretations of the observed phenomena, although coherent, are still under discussion. This paper also recalls some basic physics concepts necessary to the understanding of confinement: a knowledgeable reader can ignore these background sections. This fascinating story, comprising successes and failures, is imbedded in the complexities of twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries at a time when world globalization is evolving and the future seems loaded with questions. The views here expressed on plasma confinement are solely those of the author. This is especially the case for magnetic turbulence, for which other scientists may have different views.

中文翻译：

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欧洲联合圆环（JET）

本文介绍了JET的历史，达到最高性能的Tokamak以及迄今为止最接近聚变反应堆最终目标的实验。但是，必须警告读者，该文档不是对受控热核聚变或JET的全面研究。ITER项目是这条路的下一步，是一个实验堆。实际上，在建造商用反应堆之前，将需要几个原型。融合历史远未定论。JET在首次等离子之后约32年仍在运行，在ITER领导研究之前，JET仍必须提供许多问题的答案。尽管观察到的现象是连贯的，但仍在讨论中。本文还回顾了一些对限制的理解所必需的基本物理概念：有知识的读者可以忽略这些背景知识。这个充满成功和失败的迷人故事被埋在二十世纪和二十一世纪初的复杂性中，而此时世界全球化正在发展，而未来似乎充满了疑问。这里关于等离子体限制的观点仅是作者的观点。对于磁湍流尤其如此，其他科学家对此可能有不同的看法。在世界全球化不断发展，未来似乎充满疑问之际，它陷入了二十世纪和二十一世纪初的复杂性。这里关于等离子体限制的观点仅是作者的观点。对于磁湍流尤其如此，其他科学家对此可能有不同的看法。在世界全球化不断发展，未来似乎充满疑问之际，它陷入了二十世纪和二十一世纪初的复杂性。这里关于等离子体限制的观点仅是作者的观点。对于磁湍流尤其如此，其他科学家对此可能有不同的看法。