Plasma brings fusion closer

A project by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers claims to have overcome a barrier to plasma research, bringing the possibility of fusion energy a step closer.

The research team, headed by electrical and computer engineering professor David Anderson and research assistant John Canik, investigated the Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX). The HSX is a magnetic plasma chamber called a stellarator, which can overcome a major barrier in plasma research, by which stellarators lose too much energy to reach the high temperatures needed for fusion.

The new results show that the unique design of the HSX loses less energy, meaning that fusion in this type of stellarator could be possible.

Current plasma research builds on two types of magnetic plasma confinement devices, tokamaks and stellarators. The HSX aims to merge the best properties of both by giving a more stable stellarator the confinement of a more energetically efficient tokamak. ‘The slower energy comes out, the less power you have to put in, and the more economical the reactor is,’ says Canik.