Science 4 min read

Germany Contains Nuclear Fusion with Magnetic Fields

Perception7 | Shutterstock.com

Perception7 | Shutterstock.com

Nuclear fusion could provide for all of our energy needs without creating the deadly nuclear waste that nuclear fission plants produce. It is a noble goal, but one that has eluded scientists for decades. A German machine may be the next step toward the solution.

How would you like to power the world forever using little more than salt water? The idea may sound crazy, but that is what scientists have been working toward for years in the field of nuclear physics. They call it nuclear fusion, and it distinguishes itself from nuclear fission in that it can produce more energy and doesn’t create radioactive byproducts that researchers have a hard time containing.

Nuclear fusion has not been harnessed, however, and it requires materials that are notoriously hard to acquire. Currently, research points to the need for powerful magnetic fields to contain the reaction of nuclear fusion. The difficulty in sustaining such a field has hampered researchers since the 1950s. At the Wendelstein 7-X (W 7-X) stellerator in Germany, that will change.

Harnessing Nuclear Fusion: the Power of the Sun

Nuclear fusion powers our Sun. Harnessing the reaction for power requires containment of superheated balls of plasma. The running theory on how to hold the plasma in place suggests the use of electromagnetic fields. Only recently have researchers found success.

Stellarator Schematic. Science Magazine | Businessinsider.com YouTube.com
Stellarator Schematic. Science Magazine | Businessinsider.com YouTube.com

The W 7-X is what is known as a stellarator, which is a technical design first explored in the 1950s. These machines were prohibitively hard to make and utilize, so they gave way to a doughnut-shaped machine called a tokamak.

Inside a Tokamak. The Promised WLAN | Tumblr.com
Inside a Tokamak. The Promised WLAN | Tumblr.com

The tokamak seemed to be the best way to harness nuclear fusion. Yet, recent advances in computing power and plasma knowledge made the stellarator a viable option once again.

The main difference between a stellarator and a tokamak is that the tokamak makes a 2d magnetic field and requires an electric current, while the stellarator creates a twisting 3d field without the need for an internal current. As a result, stellarators are far more stable than tokamaks.

Start it up

Last year, Germany switched on the W 7-X, and it successfully contained an intensely hot blob of helium plasma. However, there were questions about whether or not the magnetic field generator was working as intended. Thankfully, these issues were recently answered. Not only does the generator work as planned, but it has an impressive error rate of only 1 in 100,000.

Germany switched on the W 7-X, and it successfully contained an intensely hot blob of helium plasma.Click To Tweet

The team tested the field by applying an electron beam to the magnetic field lines produced by the machine. The fields became visible when the team swept a fluorescent rod through those lines, showing the exact type of magnetic fields intended by the design of the machine.

Researchers are still far from developing a nuclear fusion powered reactor. Nevertheless, the precise magnetic field produced by the W 7-X represent a significant step toward that goal.

The Future of Fission

Despite near-perfect 3d magnetic fields, the W 7-X isn’t meant to produce usable energy. However, it does prove the concept behind containment of superheated plasma necessary for the process.

The next step is to use deuterium to produce fusion reactions within the machine. Yet still, this will not create more energy than what is needed to run the mechanism.

The W-7 faces stiff competition, as tokamaks aren’t out of the running quite yet.

The ITER tokamak reactor in France was also able to trap plasma long enough for fusion to occur, putting it neck and neck with the W-7.

With countries across the world placing emphasis on renewable energies, nuclear fusion could forever answer tomorrow’s energy problems. Whether it will be the stellarator or the tokamak, or a totally new design, everyone benefits from new revolutions in energy technology.

First AI Web Content Optimization Platform Just for Writers

Found this article interesting?

Let William McKinney know how much you appreciate this article by clicking the heart icon and by sharing this article on social media.


Profile Image

William McKinney

William is an English teacher, a card carrying nerd, And he may run for president in 2020. #truefact #voteforedgy

Comments (2)
Least Recent least recent
You
  1. Profile Image
    Marvin Bastow March 02 at 9:33 am GMT

    Investment is one of the best ways to achieve financial freedom. For a beginner there are so many challenges you face. It’s hard to know how to get started. Trading on the Cryptocurrency market has really been a life changer for me. I almost gave up on crypto at some point not until saw a recommendation on Elon musk successfully success story and I got a proficient trader/broker Mr Bernie Doran , he gave me all the information required to succeed in trading. I made more profit than I could ever imagine. I’m not here to converse much but to share my testimony; I have made total returns of $10,500.00 from an investment of just $1000.00 within 1 week. Thanks to Mr Bernie I’m really grateful,I have been able to make a great returns trading with his signals and strategies .I urge anyone interested in INVESTMENT to take bold step in investing in the Cryptocurrency Market, he can also help you RECOVER your lost/stolen Cryptocurrencies. you can reach him on WhatsApp : + 1 (424) 285 – 0682 or his Gmail : BERNIEDORANSIGNALS @ GMAIL . COM bitcoin is taking over the world, tell him I referred you

  2. NikolaMilovic December 11 at 11:48 am GMT

    It is necessary to pay great attention to the concept of fusion and fission in the formation and dissolution of matter. It seems to me that science has not yet realized what is and what is a fusion of fission in the formation of matter. These two concepts should not be related to the totality of the nucleus, because this is the nucleus of elementary particles, such as protons and neutrons, and no atoms.
    You must understand what energy is and how it occurs, because the energy that hold together the components of atoms and subatomic particles, are very different.
    Energy is liquefied ether and the condensation energy in the form of gluons, which are composed of matter (electrons) and antimatter (positrons).
    When you reach the appropriate thermodynamically conditions at plasma (quark-gluon), then this liquefied air, evaporates and receive electrons and positrons.
    Positrons form protons, neutrons and electrons and electron clouds.
    In the neutron and positron annihilate an electron and form a gluon.
    Now you specify here what is fusion and fission what? This is not the nucleon, but of subatomic particles. It should have reached a conclusion that we, with this technique, we can establish as much energy (strength of magnetism), that this idea around Fusion can be achieved.

share Scroll to top

Link Copied Successfully

Sign in

Sign in to access your personalized homepage, follow authors and topics you love, and clap for stories that matter to you.

Sign in with Google Sign in with Facebook

By using our site you agree to our privacy policy.