US EditionTokamak Experiments Exceed Plasma Density Limit, Offering New Approach to Fusion Ignition
EAST team demonstrated stable plasma operation beyond traditional density limits, overcoming disruptions and advancing fusion power scaling crucial for ignition, researchers said.
- China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak accessed the density-free regime, providing the first experimental confirmation, the journal Science Advances reported on January 1.
- Tokamak researchers long faced an empirical upper density limit triggering instabilities, which plasma-wall self-organization theory, proposed by D.F. Escande, aims to explain.
- Controlling initial fuel gas pressure and applying electron cyclotron resonance heating during startup reduced impurity buildup and energy losses, stabilizing plasma-wall interactions.
- The result positions EAST as a practical testbed for scaling density limits, marking a significant step toward fusion ignition and showing fusion power scales with plasma density squared, Prof. Ping Zhu said.
- The team plans to run near-term high-confinement tests as the EAST team aims to reach the density-free regime at higher performance and reconcile empirical limits with PWSO theory.
16 Articles
16 Articles
China's "artificial sun" experiment finds way to break fusion plasma density limit
Researchers have identified a method to surpass the plasma density limit in experiments with the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as the "artificial sun," providing a crucial physical basis for high-density operation in magnetic confinement fusion devices.
China’s Artificial Sun Breaks Key Barrier in Pursuit of Fusion Energy
China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences. Researchers working with China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), often known as the “artificial sun,” have discovered a method to push past a long-standing physical limit in nuclear fusion, potentially bringing the world a step closer to stable, high-energy fusion power. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, de…
China Advances Toward Fusion Ignition With Major Plasma Breakthrough
Scientists working with China’s fully superconducting Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) have reached a long-predicted state known as the “density-free regime,” where fusion plasma remains stable at densities far higher than traditional limits. The achievement marks a significant step toward solving one of fusion energy’s most persistent physical challenges. The findings were published in Science [...]
Tokamak experiments exceed plasma density limit, offering new approach to fusion ignition
Researchers working on China's fully superconducting Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) have experimentally accessed a theorized "density-free regime" for fusion plasmas, achieving stable operation at densities well beyond conventional limits.
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