New Atlas

Energy Audio available

Nuclear fusion breakthrough breathes life into the overlooked Z-pinch approach

Nick Lavars April 10, 2019

Tokamak reactors and fusion stellarators are a couple of the experimental devices used in pursuit of nuclear fusion, but scientists at the University of Washington are taking a far less-frequented route known as a Z-pinch, with the early signs pointing to a cheaper and more efficient path forward.

The Z-pinch confinement system at the University of Washington

Science

Global wake up call headlines the year in science

Darren Quick December 29, 2018

Another year is winding up, so it's time to look back at the scientific breakthroughs that excited us this year. From innovative new materials that open the door to more advanced tools and products, to discoveries that continue to push the borders of human knowledge, 2018 didn't fail to deliver.

Energy Audio available

Wendelstein 7-X fusion reactor keeps its cool en route to record-breaking results

Nick Lavars November 26, 2018

Scientists working on the cutting edge Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion reactor are reporting the experimental device has achieved its highest energy density and the longest plasma discharge times for device of this type, marking another step forward in the quest for clean fusion power.

Inside the contorted chamber of the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear reactor

Energy Audio available

Fusion breakthrough as China's "artificial sun" reaches 100 million degrees

David Szondy November 14, 2018

The day of clean, limitless energy from nuclear fusion has taken another step closer after China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reached a core plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million degrees Fahrenheit).

China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) achieved an electron temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius ...

Energy

Wendelstein 7-X sets new record in its quest for practical fusion power

James Holloway June 28, 2018

The latest tidings from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, creators of the Wendelstein 7-X, are that a new record has been set for the fusion product – another significant step along the path to practical fusion power.

Another significant step along the path to practical fusion power

Energy

Milestone claimed as experimental nuclear reactor reaches temperature of the Sun

Nick Lavars June 7, 2018

A relatively new player on the nuclear fusion scene, a UK company called Tokamak Energy, is claiming a new milestone in the area after heating its ST40 device to 15 million degrees Celsius, similar to temperatures found at the center of the Sun.

Tokamak Energy hopes to hit temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius inside its experimental nuclear reactor

Physics

Nanowire-zapping lasers unlock micro-scale nuclear fusion efficiency record

Michael Irving March 14, 2018

Researchers have broken the efficiency record for nuclear fusion on the micro-scale. Using an ultra-fast, high-powered laser, the results were about 500 times more efficient than previous experiments. The researchers blasted arrays of nanowires to create incredibly hot, dense plasmas.

The target chamber can be seen in the front of this image of the lab at ...

Physics

Monster x-ray machine blasts apart black hole theory

Michael Franco August 30, 2017

Using the most powerful X-ray-generating machine on the planet, researchers have reproduced what happens to matter just before it is devoured by a black hole. Their findings show that a long-standing theory regarding the giant gravitational sinkholes may be completely wrong.

Energy

Google's machine learning algorithm gets human help in quest for fusion power

Rich Haridy July 25, 2017

Google and Tri Alpha Energy, the world’s largest private fusion company, have joined forces to use machine learning algorithms in an attempt to bring us closer to achieving the dream of clean, unlimited fusion power.

Google has been using its machine learning algorithms to help speed up progress in research that ...

Physics

Putting the brakes on runaway electrons brings fusion power a step closer

Rich Haridy June 21, 2017

The challenges scientists face in getting nuclear fusion to work here on Earth are undeniably difficult, but not insurmountable, and two young physicists have recently solved one of the major problems engineers have been grappling with for almost half a century.

Runaway electrons can melt the solid metal walls of nuclear fusion reactors but a pair of ...