Scientists in Germany managed to activate the world's larger 'stellarator' fusion reactor. Dubbed Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), the reactor is designed to produce superheated plasma for more than 30 minutes. This week, the reactor managed to produce superheated gas in just 0.1 seconds.
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| Scientists have successfully switched on the world's largest 'Stellarator' fusion reactor. Dubbed Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), the reactor is designed to contain super-hot plasma for more than 30 minutes at a time. (Picture from: http://dailym.ai/1RiLQpL) |
Scientists hope that if it could work longer so that the reactor is capable of producing gas supply for clean and unlimited cheap energy. This fusion reactors work by placing the hydrogen atoms under heat and high pressure. This heat and pressure causes the hydrogen to fuse into helium atoms.
This process produces a lot of energy. This reactor has a strong magnetic field so that it can keep the plasma in order not to cold and lose energy. More recently, the reactor produces helium plasma which reaches a temperature of 1 million degrees Celsius.
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| Pictured The first plasma in Wendelstein 7-X. It consisted of helium and reached a temperature of about one million degrees Celsius. (Picture from: http://dailym.ai/1RiLQpL) |
"We are very satisfied. Everything was going according to plan," said Hans Stephen Bosh, a man in charge of W7-X operational on the first day of trial, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Scientists still have homework to extend the duration of the discharge plasma and look for the best methods to heat the helium plasma using microwaves. They claim an unusual design ultimately help make fusion energy into reality.
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| In stellarators, plasma is contained by external magnetic coils which create twisted field lines around the inside of the vacuum chamber. (Picture from: http://dailym.ai/1RiLQpL) |
The most common design is the tokamak design. This design form metal hollow space in the shape of a donut. While, this design poses some security risks. At this Stellarators, plasma is contained by magnetic coils that make the field lines spinning in a vacuum chamber that is considered more secure.
These reactors work using two types of hydrogen atoms namely deuterium and tritium. Both were later added energy to the electrons of the atoms escape and generate plasma ions that produce energy in very large quantities.
Stellarator design was first sparked in 1951 by Lyman Spitzer. However, at the time the design was considered too complex. Now, with the help of supercomputers and new materials, this reactor could eventually be realized. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DAILYMAIL]
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