Plasma fusion as a research area investigates the conditions and processes required to achieve controlled thermonuclear fusion in ionized gases, focusing on confinement, stability, heating, and transport phenomena in high-temperature plasmas. It encompasses magnetic confinement (e.g., tokamaks, stellarators), inertial confinement (laser- or particle-beam driven), and alternative concepts, integrating plasma physics, nuclear physics, materials science, and advanced diagnostics. Key objectives include understanding turbulence, instabilities, and non-linear interactions that govern energy and particle confinement, optimizing reactor-relevant regimes such as H-mode, and developing predictive models to guide the design of fusion devices aimed at net energy gain and ultimately practical fusion power production.
A joint research team from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully developed a continuous cryogenic pellet injection system for tokamak fueling. This innovative system addresses ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 15, 2025
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The development of sustainable energy sources that can satisfy the world energy demand is one of the most challenging scientific problems. Nuclear fusion, the energy source of stars, is a clean and virtually unlimited energy ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 10, 2025
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Heating plasma to the ultra-high temperatures needed for fusion reactions requires more than turning the dial on a thermostat. Scientists consider multiple methods, one of which involves injecting electromagnetic waves into ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 19, 2024
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Imagine if we could take the energy of the sun, put it in a container, and use it to provide green, sustainable power for the world. Creating commercial fusion power plants would essentially make this idea a reality. However, ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 18, 2024
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Fusion energy research is being pursued around the world as a means of solving energy problems. Magnetic confinement fusion reactors aim to extract fusion energy by confining extremely hot plasma in strong magnetic fields.
Plasma Physics
Dec 12, 2024
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A research team has clarified the mechanism behind the generation of runaway electrons during the startup phase of a tokamak fusion reactor. The paper, "Binary Nature of Collisions Facilitates Runaway Electron Generation ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 5, 2024
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Fusion energy is being researched and developed as a new source of electric power that will contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society. At the National Institute for Fusion Science, research on magnetically ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 4, 2024
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A different mix of fuels with enhanced properties could overcome some of the major barriers to making fusion a more practical energy source, according to a new study.
Plasma Physics
Nov 19, 2024
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Physicists have been trying to design fusion reactors, technologies that can generate energy via nuclear fusion processes, for decades. The successful realization of fusion reactors relies on the ability to effectively confine ...
Nuclear fusion could be an ideal solution to mankind's energy problem, guaranteeing a virtually limitless source of power without greenhouse gas emissions. But there are still huge technological challenges to overcome before ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 5, 2024
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