Showing posts with label Wendelstein 7-X. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wendelstein 7-X. Show all posts

Friday, February 19, 2016

Germany's massive nuclear fusion machine just produced its first hydrogen plasma

German scientists have just switched on the Wendelstein 7-X (W7X) stellarator - the largest nuclear fusion machine of its kind - to successfully produce and sustain hydrogen plasma for the first time.

Why is this such a big deal? The production of hydrogen plasma is key to harnessing the clean, limitless energy of nuclear fusion - the process that powers our Sun. If we can achieve controlled nuclear fusion, it would quite literally change the world, because it would replace fossil fuels and nuclear fission facilities as a cheaper, more efficient, and more sustainable source of energy.