In the predawn hours of Sept. 5, 2021, engineers achieved a major milestone in the labs of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC), when a new type of magnet, made from high-temperature superconducting material, achieved ...
Superconductivity
Mar 4, 2024
6
363
Most people know about solids, liquids, and gases as the main three states of matter, but a fourth state of matter exists as well. Plasma—also known as ionized gas—is the most abundant, observable form of matter in our ...
Plasma Physics
Mar 4, 2024
0
63
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) successfully conducted in-situ studies with a plasma generated inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). This marks the first time live SEM ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 28, 2024
0
46
Most of the energy from the sun and other stars comes from a chain of nuclear fusion reactions. The end of this chain is marked by the fusion of protons with beryllium-7 to form boron-8. This process is key in determining ...
General Physics
Feb 26, 2024
3
367
Fusion is a natural phenomenon that provides our planet with much of its energy—generated millions of miles away in the center of our sun.
Plasma Physics
Feb 24, 2024
0
22
With its tangle of pipes and pumps leading to a metal pot the size of a five-storey building, Japan's JT-60SA machine looks to the untrained eye like a contraption from 1970s sci-fi.
Plasma Physics
Feb 22, 2024
0
24
Fashioned from the same element found in sand and covered by intricate patterns, microchips power smartphones, augment appliances and aid the operation of cars and airplanes.
Plasma Physics
Feb 21, 2024
0
94
In the blink of an eye, the unruly, superheated plasma that drives a fusion reaction can lose its stability and escape the strong magnetic fields confining it within the donut-shaped fusion reactor. These getaways frequently ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 21, 2024
0
97
The Joint European Torus (JET), one of the world's largest and most powerful fusion machines, has demonstrated the ability to reliably generate fusion energy, while simultaneously setting a world record in energy output.
Plasma Physics
Feb 8, 2024
4
175
Five independent teams of researchers have reviewed the work and claims made by a group at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) who announced in December 2022 that they had achieved the first laser-powered fusion reaction ...
