Inside a fusion reactor, matter is heated to temperatures hotter than the Sun and confined by powerful magnetic fields. But keeping this superheated plasma stable long enough to produce usable energy remains one of the field’s toughest challenges.
One major problem is that the plasma edge can unleash violent bursts of energy capable of damaging reactor walls, while the exhaust system must also withstand enormous heat loads comparable to those on a spacecraft during reentry.
Now, researchers in China may have found a way to tackle both issues at once.
A team led by Professor Guosheng Xu at the Institute of Plasma Physics, part of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has demonstrated a new plasma operating regime on the EAST fusion device that simultaneously reduces heat striking reactor components, suppresses damaging instabilities, and maintains strong energy confinement. The achievement, sustained for roughly a minute in a metal-wall environment, was recently published in Physical Review Letters.
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