BBC Future article on ITER: The quest to recreate the Sun’s power on Earth
The next major hurdle for fusion energy research is to demonstrate the ability to produce net gain (produce more power than is put in). An internationally-backed facility is under construction in the south of France to do just that. Known as ITER, the facility is being supported by seven nations, including the United States. The BBC discusses the promise of ITER to revolutionize the energy system. From the article:
But despite the difficulties, some progress is being made. The parts are being manufactured and tested by the participating nations, many of whom hope to develop the expertise to compete in any new fusion energy market that would be expected to follow a successful outcome at Iter.
Since they don’t have access to the special conditions available in the Sun, physicists have designed a doughnut-shaped reaction chamber, called a tokamak. Hydrogen isotopes are heated to the point to which they lose electrons and form a plasma, and this is held in place for fusion but held away from the reactor walls, which could not withstand the heat. The tokamak deploys a powerful magnetic field to suspend and compress the hydrogen plasma using an electromagnet made of superconducting coils of a niobium tin alloy.
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