Harvesting Fusion Energy on Earth With a Boost From a Common Household Cleaner
Scientists have found that adding a common household cleaning agent – the mineral boron contained in such cleaners as Borax – can vastly improve the…
Fusion Reactor
Using Artificial Intelligence To See the Plasma Edge of Fusion Experiments in New Ways
MIT researchers are testing a simplified turbulence theory’s ability to model complex plasma phenomena using a novel machine-learning technique. To make fusion energy a viable…
Helping To Make Nuclear Fusion a Reality at MIT
MIT PhD student Rachel Bielajew is taking on plasma turbulence, and helping make a better world — through science and community action. Up until she…
Fusion Breakthrough: At the Brink of Fusion Ignition at National Ignition Facility
Experiments conducted in August achieved a record yield of more than 1.3 megajoules. After decades of inertial confinement fusion research, a record yield of more…
Neutral Particles a Drag on Disruptive Plasma Blobs in Fusion Power Reactors
New simulations couple gyrokinetic and kinetic models to better predict plasma turbulence. For decades, scientists have been working to harness clean, renewable fusion energy, which…
Compact Fusion Power Plant Concept Uses State-of-the-Art Physics To Improve Energy Production
Fusion power plants use magnetic fields to hold a ball of current-carrying gas (called a plasma). This creates a miniature sun that generates energy through…
New Insights Into Heat Pathways Advances Understanding of Fusion Plasma
A high-tech fusion facility is like a thermos — both keep their contents as hot as possible. Fusion facilities confine electrically charged gas known as plasma…
Harnessing the Power of the Sun on Earth: Major Advance in Stellarator Performance for Fusion Energy
Stellarators, twisty magnetic devices that aim to harness on Earth the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars, have long played second fiddle to…
MIT Superconducting Magnet Breaks Records – Major Advance Toward Fusion Energy
New superconducting magnet breaks magnetic field strength records, paving the way for practical, commercial, carbon-free power. It was a moment three years in the making,…
Negative Triangularity – A Positive for Tokamak Fusion Power Reactors
The Science Tokamak devices use strong magnetic fields to confine and shape the plasma that contains the fuel that achieves fusion. The shape of the…
The Wendelstein 7-X Nuclear Fusion Device Concept Proves Its Efficiency
Part of the optimization strategy experimentally confirmed / energy losses of the plasma reduced. One of the most important optimization goals underlying the Wendelstein 7-X…
Science Made Simple: What Is Plasma Confinement?
Plasma confinement refers to the containment of a plasma by various forces at the extreme conditions necessary for thermonuclear fusion reactions. These conditions exist naturally…
Keeping an Eye on the Fusion Magnet Technology of the Future
Daniel Korsun’s undergraduate career at MIT prepared him to look more deeply into fusion magnet technology and design. “That was your warmup. Now we’re really…
Science Made Simple: What Is Fusion Energy Science?
Fusion energy science is a multi-disciplinary field focused on the science needed to develop an energy source based on a controlled thermonuclear fusion reaction. Fusion…
ITER Global Fusion Energy Project: After a Decade of Design and Fabrication, World’s Most Powerful Magnet Ready
Major milestone in US contribution to ITER. After a decade of design and fabrication, General Atomics is ready to ship the first module of the…
Science Made Simple: What Is a Stellarator?
Fusion power may be able to provide the world with safe, clean, and renewable power. The stellarator is one of the technologies scientists believe could lead to…
MIT: On Course to Create a Fusion Power Plant
How an MIT engineering course became an incubator for fusion design innovations. “There is no lone genius who solves all the problems.” Dennis Whyte, director…
Nuclear Fusion: Building a Star on Earth Is Hard – We Need Better Materials
Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the Sun and all other stars. During fusion, the nuclei of two atoms are brought close enough together…