Researchers at a U.S. government nuclear fusion laboratory say they have found a way to downsize the huge magnets that are necessary for controlling fusion plasma in what they think is another step toward creating a viable fusion reactor.
Nuclear fusion refers to the process of joining two atomic nuclei together to form one, heavier atom. However, the mass of the new heavier atom is slightly less than that of the two individual atoms, and this leftover mass is released as energy that can be harnessed to produce electricity.
Nuclear fusion happens naturally all the time in the cores of stars, such as our sun, where hydrogen atoms are fused together to form helium under enormous heat and pressure. While scientists have managed to recreate nuclear fusion artificially, the problem is sustaining a reaction for long enough to viably power an electric grid.
The other problem is that scientists have so far been unable to get a nuclear fusion reactor to produce more energy than it consumes, since recreating the intense heat needed for fusion to take place requires a lot of power.
Still, scientists and governments are chasing a working nuclear fusion reactor since it promises a clean, powerful, and virtually limitless source of energy. Small breakthroughs are bringing humanity incrementally closer to such a reactor, but one that breaks even with energy out versus energy in and can be used on a national grid is still thought to be at least a decade away.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/nuclear-fusion-energy-edges-closer-with-super-magnets-for-smaller-tokamaks/ar-AAZZC0F?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=6e2eea072f67425c92de2977c75d6b47
