Lasers fuelling hopes of unlimited, clean nuclear energy

[W.G.Ewald]

The lasers fuelling hopes of unlimited, clean nuclear energy - Science - News - The Independent

A milestone has been reached in the 60-year struggle to harness the nuclear reactions that power the Sun in an experiment that could lead to a way of producing an unlimited source of clean and sustainable energy in the form of nuclear fusion.

Scientists in California said on Wednesday night that they have for the first time managed to release more energy from their nuclear fusion experiment than they put into it, which marks a critical threshold in eventually achieving the goal of a self-sustaining nuclear-fusion reaction.

 

[CCP]

One of the comments

Harold Janson 33 minutes ago

Well, no, not really. What you're seeing here is a news-friendly interpretation of science, which results in it being mostly bs. They have no sustained fusion and no reliable containment. As of this point, China's the only one who's managed a sustained fusion.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

One of the comments

Harold Janson 33 minutes ago

Well, no, not really. What you're seeing here is a news-friendly interpretation of science, which results in it being mostly bs. They have no sustained fusion and no reliable containment. As of this point, China's the only one who's managed a sustained fusion.

Can you post a link to support Janson's claim?

 

[CCP]

Can you post a link to support Janson's claim?

China Takes One Small Step Towards Fusion Power - China Digital Times (CDT)

When plasma is magnetically confined and heated beyond a certain limit, it transitions to a high-confinement mode, or H-mode. In this mode, the plasma itself spontaneously generates an "edge" that partly prevents particles from escaping, and it throttles turbulence in the hot material. This more than doubles the time plasma can be confined. The present study achieved more than 30 seconds of a sustained H-mode pulse, an improvement of 10 to 20 times beyond anything achieved at other reactors. Thirty seconds may not sound like much until you realize this is plasma at more than 100 million degrees, more than five times the core temperature of the Sun.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Another article.

Fusion reactor achieves tenfold increase in plasma confinement time | Ars Technica

...work is proceeding apace on the next generation of fusion reactors. Researchers at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei, China, achieved a significant improvement in its confinement time and the density of the plasma it held. This step is necessary to maintain the appropriate conditions for fusion as well as to reduce the damage the hot plasma causes to the reactor walls. As described by J. Li and colleagues, the latest run at EAST achieved a plasma pulse lasting over 30 seconds, a record achievement that simultaneously demonstrated improvements in heat dispersal.

EAST can be thought of as a pathfinder for the larger International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), slated to begin operation in 2020 with full fusion power tests in 2028. However, thanks largely to budgetary cuts across science, the United States' long-term financial contribution to ITER is in question, which could delay the start further. (The previous version of this post said the US had withdrawn from the project, which was an incorrect statement.)

Nevertheless, these results are necessary but incremental steps toward reliable nuclear fusion power. A tenfold increase in plasma confinement time is a significant accomplishment, and it came with an improvement in heat dissipation. The slow state of progress may or may not yield ultimate results, but the promise of clean abundant power could be a bit closer to reality.

Note US contribution

 

[CCP]

Note US contribution

US contribution? ITER yes, and in the future....

But, we are talking about EAST now.

" the latest run at EAST achieved a plasma pulse lasting over 30 seconds, a record achievement that simultaneously demonstrated improvements in heat dispersal."