LLNL’s National Ignition Facility achieved a significant milestone in fusion research in August 2021, with…
Browsing: Fusion Reactor
A fusion reactor is a device designed to harness the power of nuclear fusion, the process that powers stars, including the Sun. In fusion, energy is released when light atomic nuclei combine to form heavier nuclei under conditions of extremely high temperature and pressure. The most common fusion reaction for earthly applications involves the isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium, producing helium and a neutron, along with a significant amount of energy. Fusion reactors aim to replicate this stellar process in a controlled environment to produce clean, sustainable, and nearly limitless energy without the radioactive waste associated with current nuclear fission reactors. Despite significant scientific and engineering challenges, such as achieving and maintaining the required conditions for a net energy gain, several experimental reactors like ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and various national projects are actively pursuing the development of practical fusion power.
Fusion nuclear science and technology specializes in investigating the extreme nuclear fusion environment. This environment has…
The old joke is that nuclear fusion is always 30 years away. However, the dream…
New insights into understanding turbulence in fusion plasmas. In order to achieve fusion in a…
Physicists at EPFL, within a large European collaboration, have revised one of the fundamental laws…
Nuclear fusion hit a milestone thanks to better reactor walls – this engineering advance is…
A breakthrough in stellarator design achieves quasisymmetry in magnetic fields, advancing the potential for fusion…
European joint experiment prepares transition to large-scale ITER project. Following the example of the sun,…
Fusion energy, using deuterium-tritium fuel, offers a potential for limitless and clean energy. Fusion energy has…
Researchers discovered that injecting boron into fusion devices boosts heat confinement and reaction efficiency, marking…
MIT researchers are testing a simplified turbulence theory’s ability to model complex plasma phenomena using…
MIT PhD student Rachel Bielajew is taking on plasma turbulence, and helping make a better…
Experiments conducted in August achieved a record yield of more than 1.3 megajoules. After decades…
New simulations couple gyrokinetic and kinetic models to better predict plasma turbulence. For decades, scientists…
Compact Advanced Tokamak boosts fusion efficiency with self-sustaining plasma. Fusion power plants use magnetic fields…
A new PPPL model shows electrons and ions interact strongly in plasma heat transport, boosting…
W7-X stellarator proves fusion promise with record heat confinement and optimized magnetic design. Stellarators, twisty…
New superconducting magnet breaks magnetic field strength records, paving the way for practical, commercial, carbon-free…