Physicists Gave Up on This Fusion Technique in the 1980s. Now It’s Working

[Marlin]

Physicists Gave Up on This Fusion Technique in the 1980s. Now It's Working

https://gizmodo.com/physicists-gave-up-on-this-fusion-technique-in-the-1980s-now-its-working-2000836004

[Core Content]

Physicists Revived a Nuclear Fusion Technique From the 1980s

Researchers at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility successfully demonstrated helicon current drive experiments using advanced equipment. First proposed decades ago, the technique uses high-frequency radio waves to stabilize plasma inside a tokamak reactor. Improved antennas and diagnostics allowed scientists to finally achieve the desired results.

Traditional tokamaks rely on solenoids that require periodic resets, limiting reactor operations to short pulses. Achieving commercial viability requires continuous steady state operation. Non-inductive methods like helicon current drive offer a pathway to eliminate these interruptions by generating internal electric currents continuously.

A fusion trick that failed in the 1980s finally works—and it may keep reactors running nonstop.

Fusion energy feels like a perpetually elusive goal, but with new ideas and better equipment, scientists have been inching closer to harnessing the power of the stars. But some physicists are testing a different combination: better equipment for an old idea.

Physicists recently reported the successful experimental demonstration of helicon current drive at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. First proposed in the 1980s, helicon current drive uses a specific type of high-frequency radio wave to drive the hot plasma of a fusion reactor, producing an internal electric current to stabilize the reaction. However, the equipment at the time simply wasn't able to deliver on the theory, which was why the idea was shelved until now. But thanks to major...

Read the full article at Gizmodo:
https://gizmodo.com/physicists-gave-up-on-this-fusion-technique-in-the-1980s-now-its-working-2000836004