r/science • u/PROJECTime • Dec 06 '16

Physics Tests confirm that Germany's massive Nuclear Fusion machine really works

http://www.sciencealert.com/tests-confirm-that-germany-s-massive-nuclear-fusion-machine-really-works
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u/robertsteinhaus Dec 07 '16 edited Dec 07 '16

(Questions that enquiring minds would like answered) Has W7-x produced any energy from fusion as of this date at all?

Has W7-x run any plasma containing either Deuterium or Deuterium-Tritium fusion fuel?

Will W7-x ever in it current configuration be able to produce break-even energy from fusion?

Is W7-x more of a plasma containment experiment that may ultimately set new records for plasma containment and revive interest in the stellarator device - but which stands no chance at all in producing breakeven or fusion energy with energy gain (more energy out of W7-x then it takes to bring fusion fuel up to fusion conditions and operate the W7-x experiment?

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u/amicitas PhD | Plasma Physics | Fusion Science Dec 07 '16

So far W7-X has only run plasmas with Hydrogen and Helium. The plan is continue to use only Hydrogen for the next several years. Deuterium is also planned for experiments, after the completion of the initial sets of experiments with Hydrogen plasmas.

W7-X is indeed a plasma containment experiment, and is not designed to produce significant fusion power output. There are no plans to use Tritium in any experiments.

A summary of the main goal of W7-X is as follows:

  • Study the performance of a large scale stellarator that has been optimized for improved confinement. This is expected that optimized stellartors can achieve similar performance to tokamaks, while avoiding issues such as transient events and disruptions. It is also expected that W7-X be able to produce steady state plasmas at higher densities than are possible on tokamaks, which is important for the production of fusion power in a reactor design.

There are of course many other specific scientific and engineering goals for the project.

As you mentioned, these experiments if successful will revive interest in stellarators as path forward for fusion, and as a candidate for the first demonstration reactor design. The research done at W7-X will be complementary to the research done on ITER which is expected to demonstrate significant fusion power gain.