Sci/Tech Scientists just took a major step towards achieving nuclear fusion

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With the potential to provide almost limitless energy, free of any radioactive by-product or greenhouse gases, nuclear fusion is the goal many are aiming to achieve.

Creating a system to harness the power of nuclear fusion is proving difficult, however. Now, researchers think they have taken a step closer to that goal.

It takes immense pressure and temperatures of about 150 million degrees to get atoms to combine in a fusion reactor. Runaway electrons can wreak havoc in the fusion reactors currently under development and could destroy a reactor without warning.

The new technique works by decelerating these runaway electrons. This is done by injecting heavy ions, such as argon or neon in the form of gas or pellets, into the reactor. Electrons collide with these atoms, slowing them down.

"When we can effectively decelerate runaway electrons, we are one step closer to a functional fusion reactor," said Chalmers University of Technology's Linnea Hesslow, co-author of the paper.

“Considering there are so few options for solving the world's growing energy needs in a sustainable way, fusion energy is incredibly exciting since it takes its fuel from ordinary seawater.”

 
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