Nuclear Fusion Experiment Marks First Success

A nuclear fusion experiment in Germany marked its first success as the scientists involved managed to create a nuclear fusion plasma which lasted for just a fraction of a second.

The Associated Press reported that following nine years of construction and testing, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald decided to go ahead with the injection of a tiny amount of hydrogen into a doughnut-shaped device, which resulted in the plasma creation. The plasma formed for just a fraction of a second and the scientists hope that by 2026 they will be able to keep it stable for 30 minutes.

Overall, there is long way to go before the scientific community manages to harness the energy deriving from nuclear fusion. In case of a breakthrough, then the current international status quo will structurally change, as huge amounts of clean energy can derive from the nuclear fusion.

The most well-known body "working” with nuclear fusion is the Sun. Fusion occurs constantly on the brightest star. According to Popular mechanics website, the Sun produces most of its energy via the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium. When nuclei fuse, they create a heavier nucleus and produce a little leftover energy in the process.

However, the problem for the scientists is that they can’t find a material able to withstand the heat that the plasma produces and they also need to find a way to produce energy which will cover the high cost of the electricity needed to heat the chamber.

At present, two main experimental approaches are being studied: magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. The first method uses strong magnetic fields to contain the hot plasma and the second involves compressing a small pellet containing fusion fuel to extremely high densities using strong lasers or particle beams.

At the Max Planck Institute, fusion reaction occurred in adoughnut-shaped chamber and the plasma was locked inside the vacuum chamber by magnetic fields, mimicking the pressure of the sun’s core.

"Everything went well today,” said Robert Wolf, a senior scientist involved with the project. "With a system as complex as this you have to make sure everything works perfectly and there’s always a risk,” he said.

Among the difficulties is how to cool the complex arrangement of magnets required to keep the plasma floating inside the device, Wolf said. Over the coming years the scientists hope that they will slowly increase the temperature and duration of the plasma with the goal of keeping it stable for 30 minutes. "If we manage 2025, that’s good. Earlier is even better,” Wolf said.

Even though a science fusion breakthrough will be a historic event for mankind, there are scientists who claim that harnessing power from nuclear fusion is expensive and impossible and states should use the available resources in other more feasible projects.