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
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The Latest on: Nuclear fusion
- Taxpayers to fund fast-tracked nuclear fusion reactorson May 8, 2024 at 8:59 am
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- New Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion - Is the End Near for Coal and Gas?on May 7, 2024 at 10:07 am
Nuclear fusion is regarded as the energy source of the future and could revolutionize energy production. Research teams continually develop these projects further and now they've made another breakthr ...
- Tungsten-lined tokamak sets fusion record, sustains plasma for 6 minson May 7, 2024 at 1:09 am
The fusion reaction plasma carried 15 percent more energy and had twice the density than before, the researchers said.
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A fusion device ensconced in highly durable tungsten sustained a more energetic, denser plasma than previously recorded.
- Private Investment Fuels Race For Nuclear Fusion Power In USon May 5, 2024 at 10:07 pm
Spurred on by major technological advances and huge private investment, the United States' nuclear fusion sector could be producing electricity within ten years, industry players say.
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- Nuclear Fusion Breakthroughs Bring Near-Limitless Energy Closeron April 30, 2024 at 5:46 am
Physicists say the discovery offers a potential avenue to "economically attractive fusion energy" in the future.
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