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New 'Stellarator' Design for Fusion Reactors

eldavojohn writes "The holy grail of fusion reactors has always seemed 'just a few years off' for many decades. But a recent design enhancement termed a 'Stellarator' may change all that. The point at which a fusion reactor crashes is when particles begin escaping due to disruptions in the plasma. A NYU team has discovered that coiling specific wires to form a magnetic field may contain the plasma. This may be a a viable way to create a plasma body with axial symmetry, and a far better chance of remaining stable. Like other forms of containment this does require energy itself, but could bring us closer to a stable fusion reactor. It may not be cold fusion or 'table top' fusion but it certainly is a step forward. The paper is up for peer review in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

2 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Oh, great! by Sloppy · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just bought a fusion reactor that uses the old design!

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    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  2. Re:input-output by feepness · · Score: 4, Funny

    Picture Chinese handcuffs Great now I can't let go of that image.