‘Star in a Jar’ reactor for infinite energy in the offing

A fusion reactor works by fusing the nuclei of lighter atoms into heavier atoms, unlike a traditional fission reactor which splits atoms of heavy elements to generate energy. The process releases massive amounts of energy and produces no radioactive waste. The “fuel” used in a fusion reactor is simple hydrogen, which can be extracted from water.

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However, to achieve fusion, scientists must generate enormously high temperatures to heat the hydrogen into a plasma state, ‘Live Science’ reported. The plasma is so hot, in fact, that it would instantly burn material used to contain it.

That is where the W7-X stellerator design comes in. The device confines the plasma within magnetic fields generated by superconducting coils cooled down to near absolute zero.

The plasma – at temperatures upwards of 80 million degrees Celsius – never comes into contact with the walls of the containment chamber. The W7-X is the world’s largest and most sophisticated stellerator. Its development has been an ongoing, international effort.