MIT fusion collaboration receives renewed funding
As part of an initiative to support the development of nuclear fusion as a future practical energy source, the U. S. Department of Energy is renewing three-year funding for two Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) projects on the Wendelstein7-X (W7-X) stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany. The largest stellarator in the world, W7-X was built with helically-shaped superconducting magnets to investigate the stability and confinement of high temperature plasma in an optimized toroidal configuration, ultimately leading to an economical steady state fusion power plant. With plasma discharges planned to be up to 30 minutes long, researchers anticipate W7-X will demonstrate the possibility of continuous operation of a toroidal magnetically-confined fusion plasma. PSFC principal research scientist Jim Terry is being funded to build and install on the stellarator a new diagnostic called “Gas-Puff Imaging,” which measures the turbulence at the boundary of the hot plasma by taking images...