Errymath: nuclear fusion

Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion?

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<img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-144046" height="687" src="https://www.nextbigfuture.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cdfe49b0b3674a73183d3d1f84b8882b.png?x71037" width="969" /><br />
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<a href="https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/03/commonwealth-fusion-systems-will-try-to-use-more-powerful-superconductors-and-magnets-for-a-compact-commercial-tokomak-by-2033.html" target="blank">MIT has spunout a tokomak fusion project into Commonwealth Fusion systems.</a>
 They want to apply modular designs to high-temperature superconductors.
 They want to get to stronger magnets that will shrink the size and cost
 of the potential nuclear fusion reactor. Improved magnets would improve
 any nuclear fusion design that involves confinement of plasma.<br />
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There is
 less science risk to this MIT approach but more technological risk. 
They are trying to accelerate the commercial use of high-temperature 
superconducting magnets and trying to contain their costs. Cost for 
superconducting magnets for past fusion projects have been $20 per watt 
but other applications have seen costs of $1.4 to $1.8 per watt.<br />
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Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion?

MIT has spunout a tokomak fusion project into Commonwealth Fusion systems. They want to apply modular designs to high-temperature super...

Plan to build world’s first experimental nuclear fusion power station

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Harness the energy that powers the sun.
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At least three Chinese cities are vying to host the world’s first experimental nuclear fusion power station after the country’s government
 threw its weight behind the ambitious project this month.<br />
Chinese scientists have been working on the 
conceptual design of the project, which offers the prospect of an almost
 unlimited supply of energy, since at least 2013, but the central 
government’s imprimatur has now taken it on to the next stage – drawing 
up the engineering blueprints.
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Shanghai, mainland China’s financial hub, has 
been joined by Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, and Chengdu, the 
capital of Sichuan province, in the race to win the lucrative project, 
which, according to some estimates, could cost more than 100 billion 
yuan (US$15.2 billion).</div>
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With completion scheduled for 2035, the reactor 
would heat hydrogen gas to a temperature 10 times as hot as the core of 
the sun. At such temperatures, atoms of deuterium and tritium, two 
isotopes of hydrogen, merge to form helium. A small bit of mass would be
 lost, creating a huge amount of energy.</div>
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<img alt="" class="lazyload-processed loaded" data-caption="Chinese scientists install an experimental tokamak reactor at a research facility in Hefei, Anhui province, in February 2006. Photo: EPA" data-enlarge="https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980w/public/images/methode/2017/12/26/8d8a16c4-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1280x720_195315.JPG?itok=o84V91fh" data-ignore="true" data-original="https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2017/12/26/8d8a16c4-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1280x720_195315.JPG?itok=WasZu3dp" height="551" src="https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2017/12/26/8d8a16c4-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1280x720_195315.JPG?itok=WasZu3dp" title="Chinese scientists install an experimental tokamak reactor at a research facility in Hefei, Anhui province, in February 2006. Photo: EPA" width="980" /><br />      
Chinese
 scientists install an experimental tokamak reactor at a research 
facility in Hefei, Anhui province, in February 2006. Photo: EPA
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Fusion, the same process that has kept the sun 
burning for the past 5 billion years, is regarded as the ultimate 
solution to humanity’s energy needs. Hydrogen is plentiful in Earth’s 
oceans, and, unlike today’s uranium-fuelled nuclear power plants, a 
fusion reactor would produce no radioactive waste.</div>
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On December 6, a day after the central 
government announced it was backing the project, Shanghai’s Communist 
Party secretary, Li Qiang, and the city’s mayor, Ying Yong, led a 
delegation to China’s largest nuclear fusion research device, in Hefei, 
to discuss “matters of cooperation”, scientists working at the facility 
told the <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2125267/chinese-cities-vie-harness-energy-powers-sun" target="_blank"><i>South China Morning Post</i>.</a></div>
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A researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’
 Institute of Plasma Physics, which is based in Hefei, said Shanghai, 
home to a large pool of scientific talent, hoped to host the project.</div>
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“The city sits by the sea, with lots of water 
which can be used to dissipate the heat generated by the reactor,” said 
the researcher, who asked not to be named. “Personally, I’d like to see 
the project built by the coast, but it is not a prerequisite. The 
reactor could also be built in an inland area next to a lake or 
reservoir.”</div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 660px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/bb3ebbe2-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1320x770_195315.JPG" data-resolution="2" src="https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/bb3ebbe2-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1320x770_195315.JPG" style="height: 385px; width: 660px;" title="The doughnut-shaped chamber at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in Hefei. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 660px;"><span class="image-caption hover-processed active" style="display: block;">The doughnut-shaped chamber at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in Hefei. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences</span><span class="image-caption hover-processed active" style="display: block;"> </span></span> </div>
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Officials in Hefei, supported by Anhui’s 
provincial government, have told local media they mount an “all out” 
effort to have the reactor built in the city, already home to the 
Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, which has set records for
 the longest lasting plasma – the extremely hot gas in which fusion 
takes place.</div>
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Research facilities in Sichuan, in southwestern 
China, played key design and production roles in China’s nuclear weapons
 programme, and Chengdu’s bid is backed by the military and China’s 
powerful nuclear industry. </div>
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The province is already home to several 
experimental tokamak devices and Chengdu argues that its researchers 
have more experience in building sophisticated, unconventional reactors 
than those elsewhere in China.</div>
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Yang Qingwei, a Chengdu-based nuclear physicist leading the engineering design of the fusion reactor, told the <i>Post</i> several cities were competing for the project.</div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 486px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/c57c9232-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_972x_195315.PNG" data-resolution="2" src="https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/c57c9232-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_972x_195315.PNG" style="height: 433px; width: 486px;" title="An experiment conducted at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in January. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 486px;"><span class="image-caption hover-processed active" style="display: block;">An experiment conducted at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in January. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences</span></span> </div>
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“There is no consensus yet, nor any decision,” 
Yang, a researcher at the China National Nuclear Corporation’s 
Southwestern Institute of Physics, said, declining to reveal the names 
of candidate locations.</div>
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Xiao Jun, a nuclear scientist studying fusion at
 the Institute of Modern Physics at Fudan University in Shanghai, said 
the cities were attracted by the potential benefits of building what was
 likely to become the world’s first fusion power plant.</div>
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“The temptation is almost irresistible,” he said.</div>
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Major nations have been striving to make nuclear
 fusion a reality for more than half a century, with the tokamak, 
invented by Soviet physicists in the 1950s, the most popular 
experimental reactor design. It uses superconductive coils to generate a
 powerful magnetic field capable of containing the plasma in a 
doughnut-shaped chamber.</div>
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The United States also tried another approach, 
known as inertial confinement, at its National Ignition Facility in 
California. It aims to use lasers to achieve fusion, but has proved more
 difficult than originally thought, and the US Department of Energy 
admitted last year that the US$3.5 billion facility might never reach 
its goal.</div>
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With strong financial backing from the Chinese 
government, Chinese researchers have extended their fusion research lead
 over the US in recent years, setting records for the longest lasting, 
most stable plasma and developing new technologies and materials in 
state-of-the-art laboratories.</div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 660px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/1eb5e00c-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1320x770_195315.jpg" data-resolution="2" src="https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/1eb5e00c-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1320x770_195315.jpg" style="height: 385px; width: 660px;" title="Construction work at the ITER site in Cadarache, southern France, in September last year. The tokamak reactor is scheduled to produce its first plasma in December 2025. Photo: AP" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 660px;"><span class="image-caption hover-processed active" style="display: block;">Construction
 work at the ITER site in Cadarache, southern France, in September last 
year. The tokamak reactor is scheduled to produce its first plasma in 
December 2025. Photo: AP</span></span> </div>
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The planned Chinese fusion reactor will rely 
heavily on the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental 
Reactor (ITER) under construction in southern France, but is aiming for a
 much more ambitious goal.</div>
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ITER, which has attracted investment totalling <span class="euro text-only">€</span>22
 billion (US$26.1 billion) from the European Union and countries 
including China, the US and Russia, is the most expensive scientific 
facility ever built. But it is only aiming for a fusion burn lasting 
about 10 minutes, while the researchers working on the Chinese reactor 
hope to achieve one lasting months.</div>
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Tang Jun, a fusion scientist at Sichuan 
University’s Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology in Chengdu, 
said achieving the goal would require the development of many 
technologies, instruments and materials that did not exist today.</div>
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For instance, the reactor’s inner wall would 
have to be made of super strong alloys to withstand the heat and 
bombardment of high-energy particles, the plasma would need to be 
tightly and precisely controlled to prevent destructive energy spikes 
and the electric coils would have to be bathed in a large volume of 
super-cold liquid to maintain their superconductivity, otherwise the 
magnetic field would disappear.</div>
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“This project will draw research talent from 
other cities in China and all over the world,” Tang said. “It could turn
 a city to one of the most vibrant innovation centres on the planet.”</div>
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According to a timeline posted on the website of
 the Chinese Academy of Sciences this month, the design work will take a
 couple of years, with construction starting in 2021.</div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 660px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/992719d2-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1320x770_195315.JPG" data-resolution="2" src="https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/26/992719d2-e615-11e7-8ff5-d91dc767c75e_1320x770_195315.JPG" style="height: 385px; width: 660px;" title="Technicians make components for ITER at a factory in La Seyne-sur-Mer, southern France, in October last year. Photo: AFP" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
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<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 660px;"><span class="image-caption hover-processed active" style="display: block;">Technicians make components for ITER at a factory in La Seyne-sur-Mer, southern France, in October last year. Photo: AFP</span></span> </div>
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But Lei Yian, an associate professor at Peking 
University’s school of physics who was previously involved in fusion 
energy research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US, said 
the cities in race should realise it was a high-risk endeavour.</div>
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“I doubt the facility can be up and running in 20 years,” he said.</div>
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Fusion projects around the world have 
encountered unexpected technical challenges that have led to serious 
delays. The ITER project, for instance, was scheduled for completion 10 
years ago, but that has been postponed to the mid-2020s according to 
even the most optimistic estimate.</div>
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While China could learn lessons from ITER, and 
Chinese engineers and workers had a reputation for meeting deadlines, 
Lei said they would face huge technical obstacles to reach the targeted 
burning time.</div>
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“The cities must consider the risk that the 
project turns into a money pit,” he said, adding there were also 
environmental concerns.</div>
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When fusion starts, a large number of 
fast-flying neutrons are generated, which can not only damage the 
reactor’s components but also pose a threat to the wider world.</div>
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“If some of the neutrons escape to the 
environment outside, even at a small percentage such as one in a 
thousand, they will pose a serious threat to people living and working 
nearby,” Lei said.</div>
<a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2125267/chinese-cities-vie-harness-energy-powers-sun" target="_blank">SCMP</a><br />
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Plan to build world’s first experimental nuclear fusion power station

Harness the energy that powers the sun. At least three Chinese cities are vying to host the world’s first experimental nuclear fusion po...

Trouble for Lockheed's fusion reactor? Device that could 'solve the world's energy crisis' is 100 times larger than first planned

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In 2014, Lockheed Martin announced that it was working on a nuclear fusion reactor small enough to fit on the back of a truck.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Many said the device could 'solve the world's energy crisis'. </div>
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But it seems the firm may be facing some issues living up to its claims.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
An
 updated technical report shows that <a href="https://thefusionblog.quora.com/An-Analysis-of-Lockheed-Martins%E2%80%99-Fusion-Effort" target="_blank">Lockheed's fusion reactor is 100 times larger than it originally planned</a>.</div>
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<img class="landscape qtext_image zoomable_in_feed lazy_loaded lazy_loading" height="426" src="https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f50d6eddff131fc05716d75a990143e9" style="opacity: 1;" width="640" /> </div>
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<br /><div class="mol-para-with-font">
Dr Matthew J Moynihan, a self-proclaimed 
'‎Nuclear Fusion Evangelist' from Houston has released technical 
specifications on <a href="https://thefusionblog.quora.com/An-Analysis-of-Lockheed-Martins%E2%80%99-Fusion-Effort" target="_blank">Lockheed's fusion reactor project</a>.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
While
 Lockheed Martin claimed in 2014 that the reactor would weigh 20 tons, 
the new specification shows that it will weigh 2,000 tons.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
In terms of size, it is seven metres in diameter, and 18 metres long – similar in size to a  submarine nuclear fission reactor.</div>
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<img class="landscape qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed lazy_loaded lazy_loading" src="https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5ac342418367b496f937fb51c4ff4162" style="opacity: 1;" /> </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
In a <a class="" href="https://thefusionblog.quora.com/An-Analysis-of-Lockheed-Martins%E2%80%99-Fusion-Effort" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">blog</a>, Mr Moynihan wrote: 'Based on the newest numbers - the CFR is not as compact as we had thought.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
'The core looks to be over 50 feet long and 20 feet in diameter.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
'A hot plasma will sit inside this ~16.3 cubic meter space.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
'That is enough space to fit two yellow school buses, with some extra room. </div>
</blockquote>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Nuclear fusion involves placing hydrogen atoms under high heat and pressure until they fuse into helium atoms.</span></div>
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<br /><div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">When 
deuterium and tritium nuclei - which can be found in hydrogen - fuse, 
they form a helium nucleus, a neutron and a lot of energy.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">This is done by heating the fuel to temperatures in excess of 150 million°C, forming a hot plasma. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Strong
 magnetic fields are used to keep the plasma away from the walls so that
 it doesn't cool down and lose its energy potential.</span></div>
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        <img alt="Neutrons released from plasma (seen here in purple) transfer heat through reactor walls to drive a turbine" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="398" id="i-16d40e1a7edc6c03" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/16/1413459401869_wps_34_Lockheed_martin1_PNG.jpg" width="634" />
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Neutrons released from plasma (seen here in purple) transfer heat through reactor walls to drive a turbine</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<img class="landscape qtext_image zoomable_in_feed lazy_loaded lazy_loading" height="357" src="https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-17884eaaf46f000a3bb4c5d6a13345e6" style="opacity: 1;" width="640" /> </div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><img class="landscape qtext_image zoomable_in_feed lazy_loaded lazy_loading" height="325" src="https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-75418033e36fbb5e9ecea2936550a6d5" style="opacity: 1;" width="640" /> </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">These are produced by superconducting coils surrounding the vessel, and by an electrical current driven through the plasma. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">For energy production, plasma has to be confined for a sufficiently long period for fusion to occur. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Lockheed's
 system features a tube-like design, which allows them to get around one
 of the limitations of traditional fusion reactor designs, that are 
limited by the amount of plasma they can hold.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Lockheed
 has found a way to constrain the plasma, using what is called a compact
 fusion reactor (CFR) with a specifically shaped magnetic field inside.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
    <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;">
      <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;">
        <img alt="Lockheed's system features a tube-like design, which allows them to get around one of the limitations of traditional fusion reactor designs, that are limited by the amount plasma they can hold " class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="423" id="i-1271bc42c8a2243d" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/16/1413457625996_wps_23_A_plasma_discharge_in_use.jpg" width="634" />
      </div>
</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
Lockheed's system features a 
tube-like design, which allows them to get around one of the limitations
 of traditional fusion reactor designs, that are limited by the amount 
plasma they can hold </div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">When
 the plasma tries to expand, the magnetic field fights back to contain 
it. In effect, this means the plasma works to contain itself. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But when the firm first announced its plans for the tiny reactor, people were skeptical about it. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Dr
 Joel Gilmore, Principal at Renewable Energy & Climate Policy at 
Roam Consulting said: 'Certainly, I'd welcome fusion as part of the 
world's energy mix, but this announcement is a long way from a working 
prototype, let alone a commercially viable power generator.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
    <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;">
      <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;">
        <img alt="Strong magnetic fields are used to keep the plasma away from the walls so that it doesn't cool down and lost it energy potential. These are produced by superconducting coils surrounding the vessel, and by an electrical current driven through the plasma" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="422" id="i-938477fb94d6cb05" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/16/1413458784798_wps_30_download_jpg.jpg" width="634" />
      </div>
</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
Strong magnetic fields are used 
to keep the plasma away from the walls so that it doesn't cool down and 
lost it energy potential. These are produced by superconducting coils 
surrounding the vessel, and by an electrical current driven through the 
plasma. <i>dailymail</i></div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'Fusion
 requires incredibly high temperatures and pressures, which is 
challenging, and a lot of people have been working on fusion for a long 
time. So I won't get too excited yet.' </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Lockheed
 had hoped that its fusion reactor could help in developingnew power 
sources amid increasing global conflicts over energy.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But the new technical specifications suggest that the firm could be struggling to refine its reactor. </span><span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><i>dailymail</i> </span></div>
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Trouble for Lockheed's fusion reactor? Device that could 'solve the world's energy crisis' is 100 times larger than first planned

In 2014, Lockheed Martin announced that it was working on a nuclear fusion reactor small enough to fit on the back of a truck. Many s...

China Claims Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, No Specifics

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<img alt="Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)" height="275" src="http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/rsz_shutterstock_403184353-e1473442569402.jpg" title="Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/author/andrew-follett/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ANDREW FOLLETT</a></i><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/12/china-claims-nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-no-specifics/" target="_blank">Energy and Science Reporter</a> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">China’s state-controlled TV station claimed Sunday scientists made a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion research.<br />

Chinese researchers claim to have independently invented components to 
keep ionized gas burning steadily for twice the length of the previous 
record — an important step forward toward nuclear fusion, if true.<br />

The country allegedly created a component for a fusion reactor core that can withstand extremely high heat.<br />
<br />
“The component we invented is one of the first of its kind in the world 
that has passed the international cyclic heat test,” Cheng Jiming of 
China National Nuclear Corporation <a class="externalLink" href="http://english.cctv.com/2016/12/11/VIDEhckU10qimuaFeDvQwVRC161211.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">told CCTV</a>. “It really means a lot — it’s a great contribution to the international field of thermonuclear experimental reactors.”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="v2-processed image no-float">
<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 465px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/a6e4f9e2-a622-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=MPuPouDh" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/a6e4f9e2-a622-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=MPuPouDh" title="The donut-shaped chamber at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST).<br />
H-mode, in a donut-shaped chamber shielded by a extremely strong electromagnetic field.<br />
<br />
CCTV wasn’t clear about what kind of breakthrough allegedly occurred, other than to say China is “<a class="externalLink" href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2044428/how-chinas-leading-world-nuclear-fusion-research" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leaving other nations in the dust</a>” and will pour more money into fusion research.<br />
<br />
China’s component is supposed to be installed on the International 
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France. China provides 
about 10 percent of the financial support for ITER and has scientists 
directly involved in the project. It claims the new component <a class="externalLink" href="http://news.qq.com/a/20161211/004269.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">is about 20 percent more heat-resistant</a> than the reactor’s design requires.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="lazyload-processed loaded" data-caption="The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility in Hefei, Anhui province. Photo: EyePress" data-enlarge="http://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980w/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=rtyQ28tG" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=vJQ0h0P7" height="359" src="http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=vJQ0h0P7" title="The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility in Hefei, Anhui province. Photo: EyePress" width="640" />      
<br />
Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Anhui’s provincial<br />
  <br />
<div class="v2-processed image no-float">
<span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 465px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/2d27bea6-a61c-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=v4GivXwt" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/2d27bea6-a61c-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=v4GivXwt" title="Technicians build a radial plate for superconducting cables for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in a large workshop in La Seyne-Sur-Mer, southern France. Photo: AFP" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div>
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France <br />
ITER members – Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, the US, India and the European Union<br />
<br />
ITER was originally expected to cost <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iter.org/faq#Do_we_really_know_how_much_ITER_will_cost" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">approximately $5.7 billion</a>. Cost overruns, design changes and rising raw material prices <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iter.org/faq#Why_have_ITER_costs_risen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">saw the amount almost triple to $ 14.9 billion</a>. The project could end up costing $20 billion. <br />
<br />
Scientists in Germany found fusion reactors are feasible <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/06/did-germany-just-unlock-nuclear-fusion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">earlier this month</a>
 by determining that an experimental reactor was generating the right 
kind of magnetic field to trap plasma for long enough for nuclear fusion
 to occur.<br />
<br />
German engineers from the Max Planck Institute <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/17/germany-tests-fusion-reactor-but-will-abandon-nuclear-by-2022/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">successfully activated</a> the experimental nuclear fusion reactor used in the research last December and managed to <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-German-fusion-reactor-achieves-first-plasma-1612154.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">suspend plasma for the first time</a>. The reactor <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iflscience.com/technology/germany-just-successfully-fired-their-nuclear-fusion-reactor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">took 19 years and $1.1 billion to build</a> and contains over 470 tons of superconducting magnets, all of which need to be cooled to absolute zero.<br />
<br />
Nuclear fusion is different from conventional nuclear reactors, as 
fusion causes atoms to join at extremely high temperatures and release 
huge amounts of energy. The process would generate essentially no 
hazardous waste and <a class="externalLink" href="http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/fusion.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wouldn’t require hazardous fuel</a>.<br />
  <br />
<div class="v2-processed image">
Operational fusion power would put most other forms of electricity generation permanently out of business and <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/17/germany-tests-fusion-reactor-but-will-abandon-nuclear-by-2022/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">could occur very soon</a>. Fusion power could be “<a class="externalLink" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qBqbr8uV9c8C&pg=PA32&ots=X_NiY853vH&dq=strauss+son+cheap+meter&sig=NJRVHP66IqtX80mgp38UfttAIPc#v=onepage&q=strauss%20son%20cheap%20meter&f=false" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">too cheap to meter</a>,”
 meaning that the cost of generating new power would be below the cost 
of determining how much power an individual was using, effectively 
making electricity generation free.<br />
<br />
Other recent <a class="externalLink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlYClniDFkM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">breakthroughs in fusion</a> could restart the atomic age, an era when nuclear progress was lauded as a pinnacle of human achievement.<br />
<br />
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.pppl.gov/events/colloquium-lockheed-martin-compact-fusion-reactor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">is developing a compact fusion reactor</a> small enough to fit in a truck and would generate enough electricity to power 80,000 homes.<br />
<br />
An American research team in January discovered a way to initiate 
nuclear fusion reactions in a process called “fast ignition” using a 
high-intensity laser, <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uoc--swe011416.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>. Scientists believe that “fast ignition” <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys3614.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">could allow a fusion reaction to be controlled</a>, because it requires less “start-up” energy than other methods.</div>
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China Claims Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, No Specifics

Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens) ANDREW FOLLETT Energy and Science Reporter China’s state-controlled TV...

Errymath

Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion?

Plan to build world’s first experimental nuclear fusion power station

Trouble for Lockheed's fusion reactor? Device that could 'solve the world's energy crisis' is 100 times larger than first planned

China Claims Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, No Specifics

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