Researchers make breakthrough on experimental device that will get hotter than the sun: 'It provides energy and cooling media'
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The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France is inching closer to completion with the delivery of essential magnetic components from China for its fusion reactor.
The Correction Coil In-Cryostat Feeder is the last and most important of many massive components in the reactor's magnetic feeder system, according to Interesting Engineering.
The device was developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics, and, according to the institution, it consists of nine sets of half-ring structures measuring approximately 52 feet wide and 10 feet high.
Per the news report, ITER is jointly funded by the European Union, China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, and Russia, all working together to unlock nearly unlimited amounts of clean and sustainable energy.
Fusion is the process of harvesting energy released when two nuclei in a superheated plasma combine to form a new atomic nucleus. The energy and pressure required to heat the plasma are immense, even exceeding temperatures in our sun, where fusion naturally occurs.
Although the success of human-made fusion reactors is still mostly theoretical, scientists are hopeful that this energy source is nearing viability.
According to ITER, "Fusion research has increased key fusion plasma performance parameters by a factor of 10,000 over 60 years; research is now less than a factor of 10 away from producing the performance needed for a fusion power plant."
The process does not emit harmful pollutants or long-lived radioactive waste and uses Earth-abundant deuterium and tritium as fuel. If successful, fusion reactors could complement solar and wind energy, pushing society further toward its sustainability goals.
The ITER magnetic feeder system is known as the "lifeline" of the reactor's magnetic assembly, and Lu Kun, deputy director of ASIPP, explained how crucial it is to the project in a press release from the school.
"It provides energy and cooling media to the fusion reactor magnets, sends back critical control signals, and also acts as a discharge channel to safely release stored magnet energy," Kun said.
Other fusion reactor projects are making progress with incremental improvements to their design.
China's Huanliu-3 reactor employs real-time data tracking to help fine-tune internal processes, while scientists at the UK Atomic Energy Authority successfully produced fusion-grade steel that can withstand the temperatures needed in these reactors.
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