Nuclear Fusion Energy: Six Divertors Make the ITER Cut

Eurofusion July 12th 2017 Red marks the spot where the magic happens: JET’s divertor. Picture: EUROfusion One crucial theme of the EUROfusion Roadmap is improving divertor designs in preparation for the demonstration fusion reactor. Divertors, often referred to as the ashtrays of a fusion device, are the components that deal with fusion exhaust products. To … Read more

Spherical tokamaks as models for next steps in fusion energy

PPPL Quest 2017 Jonathan Menard, head of NSTX-U Research. (Photo by Elle Starkman/ PPPL) Among the top puzzles in the development of fusion energy is the best shape for the magnetic facility — or “bottle” — that will provide the next steps in the development of fusion reactors. Leading candidates include spherical tokamaks, compact machines … Read more

Brexit threatens Britain’s place at the nuclear top table

Guardian 15 July 2017 The Iter nuclear fusion project under construction in the south of France in October last year. Photograph: Iter In the south of France, the largest scientific experiment mankind has ever embarked upon is rising out of the ground. This facility, the Iter project, will demonstrate nuclear fusion power on a commercial … Read more

Fusion: Will Humanity Ever Harness Star Power?

Visual Capitalist Nick Routley on July 15, 2017 Fusion is the epitome of “high risk, high reward” scientific research. If we were to ever successfully harness the forces that power the stars, mankind could have access to power that is almost literally too cheap to meter. However, reaching that goal will be a very expensive, … Read more

Probing the magnetic universe

MIT June 23, 2017 “We now strongly believe that these magnetic fields critically affect structure formation in the universe — they are critical to shaping the world as we see it,” says Associate Professor Nuno Loureiro. Photo: Susan Young Nuclear Science and Engineering Associate Professor Nuno Loureiro ponders the origins of magnetic fields. Nuclear Science … Read more

China aims to be a nuclear fusion power within the next 50 years

Silicon Republic by Colm Gorey | July 13, 2017 Illustration of a nuclear chain reaction. Image: GiroScience/Shutterstock The race to create the first sustainable ‘artificial sun’ is hotting up, with China’s top nuclear fusion scientist promising to have it within 50 years. Nuclear fusion could usher in a new age of technology, as a source … Read more

Finally, a divertor! – Wendelstein powers up

Euro Fusion July 12th 2017 The inside of the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X clearly shows the reddish tiles made of copper-chromium-zirconium. Pictures: IPP The stellarator Wendelstein 7-X has received its first divertor. Just one step closer towards realising plasma pulse lengths of half an hour without breaking the machine Fusion is different. Even when it comes … Read more

First Helical Plasma Research in the People’s Republic of China

NIFS National Institute for Fusion Science (Japan) Establishes International Academic Cooperation Agreement with Southwest Jiaotong University in the People’s Republic of China – Towards the First Helical Plasma Research in the People’s Republic of China National Institutes of Natural Sciences National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) and Southwest Jiaotong University, in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, … Read more

Fusion: The need for clean energy sources beyond renewables

American Security Project Jun 27, 2017 By: Derek A. Sutherland There is an ever-increasing demand for consumable energy worldwide. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the 2016 International Energy Outlook (IEO) report projects worldwide energy demand increasing into the mid-21st century. Worldwide energy consumption was dominated by countries within the Organization for Economic Co-operation … Read more