After seven years of development, an experimental thermonuclear reactor in the UK was successfully launched, producing a 'first plasma': confirmation that all of its components can work together to heat hydrogen gas to the plasma phase of matter.
The first plasma was produced last week by the MAST Upgrade installation in Culham, Oxfordshire, which is a fundamental component of a working nuclear fusion reactor – a dream of scientists who have been trying to realize for decades.
In nuclear fusion, the nuclei of two or more lighter elements fuse into a heavier nucleus and release energy. This phenomenon takes place at the very heart of the Sun, and if we can recreate and maintain the same reactions on Earth on a large enough scale, we can reap the benefits of clean, virtually limitless, low carbon energy.
The successful completion and first test run of MAST Upgrade is an important milestone along the way.
“We want the UK to become a world leader in fusion energy and harness its amazing potential as a clean energy source that will last for hundreds of years,” said UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway.
“The correct operation of the MAST Upgrade is a landmark moment for this fusion experiment and brings us one step closer to the goal of building the UK's first fusion power plant by 2040.”
A fusion reactor requires a device to control the reactions occurring in the plasma. Tokamaks – using magnetic fields to contain the plasma created by a fusion reaction – are one of the leading designs for such a device.
Tokamak MAST Upgrade. (CCFE / UKAEA).
For a long time, tokamaks have used a donut-shaped configuration, but newer devices such as the MAST Upgrade are examples of a more refined spherical tokamak design that is expected to provide numerous advantages in terms of efficiency and performance.
Meanwhile, MAST Upgrade will also serve as the basis for another large-scale venture: the world's largest experimental fusion facility called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
ITER is currently gathering in the south of France, with thousands of scientists from more than 30 countries participating in it. When the project is completed (estimated to cost around US $ 65 billion), ITER will have a chance to show that the energy produced by nuclear fusion can be controlled by humans.
Sources: Photo: (CCFE / UKAEA)
