Can Engineers Achieve The Holy Grail Of Energy: Infinite And Clean?

The guts of ITER, a pioneering fusion
reactor; include the massive electromagnets
needed to hold 200-million-degree hydrogen
fuel in place. © Eric Verdult/Kennis in Beeld

From Discover Magazine:

All they need to do is tame 200-million-degree plasma—without using too much energy.

For more than half a century, engineers have been trying to build a miniature sun in a bottle: a fusion reactor. Now an international team is embarking on the most intense effort ever to make it happen. If the group succeeds, we could soon generate nearly boundless power from an isotope of hydrogen that is plentiful in our oceans. That’s a big if, though.

In a basic fusion reaction, hydrogen atoms collide, creating helium and releasing energy. Making the reaction work requires heating the atoms to tens or hundreds or millions of degrees Fahrenheit. At these temperatures matter exists only as a plasma, a soup of negatively charged electrons and positively charged atomic nuclei. In a star like our sun, the plasma is held tightly together by gravity. On Earth, a fusion reactor needs a container—and no material is tough enough to withstand direct contact with the plasma.

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