'Star in a Jar' Fusion Reactor Works and Promises Infinite Energy

[TexasTowelie]

For several decades now, scientists from around the world have been pursuing a ridiculously ambitious goal: They hope to develop a nuclear fusion reactor that would generate energy in the same manner as the sun and other stars, but down here on Earth.

Incorporated into terrestrial power plants, this "star in a jar" technology would essentially provide Earth with limitless clean energy, forever. And according to new reports out of Europe this week, we just took another big step toward making it happen.

In a study published in the latest edition of the journal Nature Communications, researchers confirmed that Germany's Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) fusion energy device is on track and working as planned. The space-age system, known as a stellerator, generated its first batch of hydrogen plasma when it was first fired up earlier this year. The new tests basically give scientists the green light to proceed to the next stage of the process.

It works like this: Unlike a traditional fission reactor, which splits atoms of heavy elements to generate energy, a fusion reactor works by fusing the nuclei of lighter atoms into heavier atoms. The process releases massive amounts of energy and produces no radioactive waste. The "fuel" used in a fusion reactor is simple hydrogen, which can be extracted from water.

Read more: http://www.space.com/34960-star-in-a-jar-fusion-reactor-works.html

[progressoid]

1. I'll not hold my breath.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. I would love to see a real breakthrough in fusion power.

Probably one of the best imaginable things that could happen for humanity and the planet.

Still, the technical hurdles are pretty daunting. Doesn't mean people shouldn't keep trying, of course.

[Yo_Mama]

3. It "works" as in the fields work - but it certainly has not produced more energy

than input, which is the test for workable fusion.

We've been in this spot many times.

[struggle4progress]

4. Physicists confirm the precision of magnetic fields in stellarator

December 4, 2016 by John Greenwald

... the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) .. in Greifswald, Germany, produces high-quality magnetic fields that are consistent with their complex design.

The findings, published in the November 30 issue of Nature Communications , revealed an error field .. of less than one part in 100,000. Such results could become a key step toward verifying the feasibility of stellarators as models for future fusion reactors.

... recent advances in plasma theory and computational power .. caused the authors to wonder if devices like the W7-X can provide an answer to the question of whether stellarators are the right concept for fusion energy. Years of plasma physics research will be needed to find out, they conclude ...

http://phys.org/news/2016-12-physicists-precision-magnetic-fields-advanced.html