Zonal and poloidal
Encyclopedia
In magnetic confinement fusion
Magnetic confinement fusion
Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generating fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine the hot fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, the other being inertial confinement fusion. The magnetic approach is...

 the zonal direction primarily connotes the poloidal
Toroidal and poloidal
The earliest use of these terms cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is by Walter M. Elsasser in the context of the generation of the Earth's magnetic field by currents in the core, with "toroidal" being parallel to lines of latitude and "poloidal" being in the direction of the magnetic field...

direction (i.e. the short way around the torus
Torus
In geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle...

), the corresponding coordinate being denoted by y in the slab approximation or θ in magnetic coordinates. However, in the fusion context, usage is restricted to the context of zonal plasma flows
Zonal flow (plasma)
In toroidally confined fusion plasma experiments the term zonal flow means a plasma flow within a magnetic surface primarily in the poloidal direction...

 and there will in general be a toroidal
Toroidal and poloidal
The earliest use of these terms cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is by Walter M. Elsasser in the context of the generation of the Earth's magnetic field by currents in the core, with "toroidal" being parallel to lines of latitude and "poloidal" being in the direction of the magnetic field...

component in such flows as well. Thus, although the term zonal has come into use in plasma physics to emphasize an analogy with zonal flows in geophysics
Zonal flow
Zonal flow is a meteorological term meaning that the general flow pattern is west to east, or east to west, along the Earth's latitude lines . Extratropical cyclones in this environment tend to be weaker, moving faster and producing relatively little impact on local weather.-References:**...

, it does not uniquely identify the direction of flow, unlike the case in geophysics.

See also

  • Toroidal and poloidal
    Toroidal and poloidal
    The earliest use of these terms cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is by Walter M. Elsasser in the context of the generation of the Earth's magnetic field by currents in the core, with "toroidal" being parallel to lines of latitude and "poloidal" being in the direction of the magnetic field...

  • Zonal and meridional
    Zonal and meridional
    The terms zonal and meridional are used to describe directions on a globe. Zonal means "along a latitude circle" or "in the west–east direction"; while meridional means "along a meridian" or "in the north–south direction"....

  • Zonal flow (plasma)
    Zonal flow (plasma)
    In toroidally confined fusion plasma experiments the term zonal flow means a plasma flow within a magnetic surface primarily in the poloidal direction...

  • Zonal flow
    Zonal flow
    Zonal flow is a meteorological term meaning that the general flow pattern is west to east, or east to west, along the Earth's latitude lines . Extratropical cyclones in this environment tend to be weaker, moving faster and producing relatively little impact on local weather.-References:**...

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