The Z-pinch in A&A’s FuZE Lab
Nuclear fusion powers the stars and offers the promise of unlimited, clean energy on Earth.
But controlled thermonuclear fusion in the lab usually requires large and expensive magnetic field coils to stably confine burning plasma, ionized nuclei that collide to initiate nuclear fusion. A&A’s Fusion Z-Pinch Experiments (FuZE) Lab has demonstrated a smaller, cheaper method: We have measured sustained nuclear fusion for the first time from a 50-cm long plasma column called a Z-pinch. This method compresses a flowing plasma using electromagnetic forces, which drive the plasma to higher temperatures and densities.
While the Z-pinch is not a new plasma confinement concept, it was largely abandoned as a path for fusion energy because the plasma was not stable, which limited how long it could be confined. To get around this issue, we exploited the fact that flows can stabilize plasma, and our flowing plasma was maintained five thousand times longer than a static plasma. We also observed the sustained release of telltale energetic neutrons signaling nuclear fusion. Because this approach provides a path to nuclear fusion without coils, it could be used in the future for long-duration fusion burns in a compact and low-cost device.
Learn more: Plasma flows may provide the missing ingredient to a cheaper, more compact route to nuclear fusion
The Latest on: Nuclear fusion
[google_news title=”” keyword=”nuclear fusion” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Nuclear fusion
- Inside The Audacious Plan To Use 10,000 Nuclear Microreactors To Wean The World Off Coalon February 3, 2023 at 2:30 am
Bret Kugelmass of Last Energy aims to build his first ten inexpensive, off-the-shelf fission reactors in eastern Europe.
- NT-Tao raises $22M to explore way to generate energy from nuclear fusionon February 1, 2023 at 11:00 am
NT-Tao has rasied $22 million to explore a way to generate clean energy from nuclear fusion in an efficient way.
- Advanced Materials Market for Nuclear Fusion Technology Value to Reach US$ 911.2 Bn by 2031: TMR Studyon February 1, 2023 at 10:30 am
North America accounted for dominant share in 2021 due to rise in demand for advanced materials from industrialized economies, such as the U.S. and CanadaWilmington, Delaware, United States, Feb. 02, ...
- Israeli nuclear fusion co NT-Tao raises $22mon February 1, 2023 at 6:32 am
Israeli nuclear fusion energy company NT-Tao today announced the completion of a $22 million Series A financing round led by Delek US and NextGear Ventures, with participation from Honda, OurCrowd and ...
- Rolls-Royce unveils early-stage design for space nuclear reactoron February 1, 2023 at 6:00 am
A new image shows a possible version of future space propulsion. Nuclear fission systems, which harness the energy released in the splitting of atoms, could be used to power astronaut bases on the ...
- Modular nuclear fusion startup NT-Tao nets $22M, backed by Delekon February 1, 2023 at 4:00 am
The burgeoning nuclear sector is gaining traction among investors and large energy and transportation companies that see a growing role for a source of low-carbon energy. Details: Delek US, a Fortune ...
- Nuclear fusion is the energy source of the future, by James Broughelon January 31, 2023 at 8:00 pm
Last month, nuclear fusion topped headlines around the world when scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced an essential milestone in developing this nascent ...
- A Long Way From Nuclear Fusionon January 31, 2023 at 6:58 am
Additionally, to turn this kind of fusion reaction into an actual power source, the same effect would have to be replicated at a much higher frequency—more like several times a second rather than once ...
- Nuclear Fusion Isn’t the Silver Bullet We Want It to Beon January 30, 2023 at 10:13 am
It’s not about creating future clean energy and never has been. It’s about “protecting” the world’s greatest capitalist superpower.
- Nuclear Fusion Won’t Save the Climate, But It Might Blow Up the Worldon January 26, 2023 at 11:03 pm
Net-energy-gain fusion, a long-sought-after panacea for all that’s wrong with traditional nuclear-fission energy (read: accidents, radioactive waste), had finally been achieved at the Lawrence ...
via Bing News
