The nuclear fusion race continues its march forward with very small steps, but moving forward. Creating energy of this style still has the challenge of generating more power than is spent; a principle that is fundamental if we want to make an environmentally friendly system.
Stellarator He is the one who seems to be closest to achieving this milestone for science and humanity. Using a method that uses a type of magnetic confinement device, which uses a non-uniform magnetic field to confine a torus-shaped plasma, they have managed to sustain nuclear fusion longer than other similar initiatives.
The Stellarator project is an international effort to develop machines that can produce fusion energy. The project is led by Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germanyand has the participation of research institutions from around the world.
A while ago we were surprised when Wendelstein 7-X, a research stellarator in Germany, managed to confine plasma at temperatures above 100 million degrees Celsius.
This, at the time, was an important step towards nuclear fusion, which occurs when two atomic nuclei fuse to form a heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy.
But now, in a new breakthrough for these clean energy initiatives, the Stellarator project has achieved two additional advances.
First of all, the Wendelstein 7-X has managed to confine plasma at temperatures above 150 million degrees Celsius. This is a new record for a stellarator.
And secondly, it has developed a new computational model that can predict the behavior of plasmas in stellarators with greater precision. This model could help scientists design more efficient and stable stellarators.
These advances are an important step toward realizing the Stellarator project’s goal of building a commercially viable such machine by 2050.