German scientists begin long-awaited nuclear fusion experiment

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel began a nuclear fusion experiment that could lead to cleaner, safer nuclear power.

After nine years of planning and building, the experiment began with a small amount of hydrogen injected into a doughnut-shaped device that blasted the gas with the radiation equivalent of 6,000 microwave ovens.

The plasma created by the radiation blast lasted less than a second before cooling down. However, the brief state change was enough for German scientists to get usable information.

“Everything went well today,” Robert Wolf, a project scientist, told the Associated Press. “With a system as complex as this you have to make sure everything works perfectly and there’s always a risk.”

The Stellerator during construction in 2012 (Note the workers for scale)

The Stellerator during construction in 2012 (Note the workers for scale)

Part of a worldwide goal

The German project is part of a worldwide attempt to tame nuclear fusion, which involves atoms fusing at very high temperatures and releasing considerable amounts of energy in the process, similar to the nuclear processes inside the sun.

Advocates admit the technology is most likely many decades off, but argue that the potential to replace power generation through fossil fuels and nuclear fission reactors is too great to ignore.

The German team is working with technology created by the American physicist Lyman Spitzer in 1950. Known as a Stellarator, the device uses a complex system of magnetic coils to hold plasma inside a doughnut-shaped device long enough for fusion to happen.

In the coming years, the project team will slowly increase the temperature and duration of the plasma with the objective of keeping it stable for 30 minutes, Wolf said. “If we manage (the feat by) 2025, that’s good. Earlier is even better,” he continued.

David Anderson, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin who isn’t involved in the project, said the German project looks promising thus far.

“The impressive results obtained in the startup of the machine were remarkable,” he said. “This is usually a difficult and arduous process. The speed with which W7-X became operational is a testament to the care and quality of the fabrication of the device and makes a very positive statement about the stellarator concept itself.”

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All images credit of the Max Plank Institute