Fusion News: Tech Times- U.S. Experimental Facility Could Bring Fusion Energy One Step Closer
The Princeton Plasma Laboratory has bought us one step closer to fusion power through the Quasi-Axisymmetric Stellarator Research experiment.
It is an example of a type of fusion reactor based on a theory known as quasi-axisymmetry, leading to the design of a magnetic “bottle” — necessary to contain and control a fusion reaction — combining advantages of a stellarator and a more usual tokamak design.
But the problems still face is how to develop systems that can deal with disruption in the plasma. As reported by the Tech Times in the article, “U.S. Experimental Facility Could Bring Fusion Energy One Step Closer:”
One perceived advantage of stellarators is that the plasma inside them are not prone to disrupting or coming apart as can occur in a tokomak if its internal electrical current is suddenly lost or shut off.
Just such a problem has plagued many tokomak systems; an international team working to built ITER, a fusion experiment in France, is having to devote considerable time and attention to developing systems to deal with such distruptions.
