70-year-old nuclear fusion problem solved; can help tokamaks stop escaping electrons
The new approach lets engineers design leak-proof magnetic confinement systems 10 times faster than current methods.
Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Type One Energy Group in the US have finally solved a problem that has troubled fusion energy research for 70 long years. Using a novel symmetry theory approach, the collaboration has resolved a hurdle that has prevented sustaining plasma inside fusion reactors.
Nuclear fusion technology promises abundant clean energy with no planet-warming gases or risk of highly radioactive waste. Research in this field has been ongoing for decades but has picked up pace in recent years, with the National Ignition Facility (NIF) even demonstrating a net energy gain from fusion reactions.
The challenge, however, in scaling up nuclear fusion has been containing high-energy particles within the walls of the reactor. For fusion to occur, isotopes of hydrogen are heated to temperatures greater than those on the surface of the Sun and exist in a fourth state of matter called plasma, before fusing to form helium molecules and releasing energy.
However, at these temperatures and high energy states, alpha particles leak from the fusion reactor, causing the plasma to become less dense. As the plasma loses heat, it can no longer sustain the fusion reaction, resulting in a loss of energy production. To prevent this, scientists and engineers design systems to prevent the escape of alpha particles.