General Fusion Claims Success with Magnetized Target Fusion
1 min read
Summary
Start-up General Fusion is working on a magnetized target fusion (MTF) reactor that it hopes will provide a commercially viable solution for harnessing nuclear fusion power on Earth.
Unlike nuclear fission, which is prevalent in today’s power stations, fusion involves combining the nuclei of atoms to generate energy, which is how the Sun produces heat and light.
Such experiments typically involve combining the nuclei of the hydrogen isotope deuterium with those of the helium isotope tritium.
General Fusion is focused on magnetized target fusion, a process in which the hydrogen plasma is magnetically contained and then compressed, causing the nuclei to fuse and release neutrons.
Recently, the start-up announced that its latest prototype, Lawson Machine 26, had achieved first plasma, showing that its magnetic field could contain the super-heated hydrogen plasma.
While the is still a long way to go before the technology can be used commercially, it provides a viable alternative to the more conventional approaches being explored by other companies and institutions.
