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First plasma fired up at world's largest fusion reactor"
"Japan’s JT-60SA tokamak will test technologies put to use in ITER"
As per the article:
"The long trek toward practical fusion energy passed a milestone last week when the world’s newest and largest fusion reactor fired up. Japan’s JT-60SA uses magnetic fields from superconducting coils to contain a blazingly hot cloud of ionized gas, or plasma, within a doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel, in hope of coaxing hydrogen nuclei to fuse and release energy. The four-story-high machine is designed to hold a plasma heated to 200 million degrees Celsius for about 100 seconds, far longer than previous large tokamaks."
And, as per the end of the article:
"By 2050, Japan also hopes to build DEMO, a proposed demonstration power plant that would provide a stepping stone from the research of JT-60SA and ITER to commercial fusion power. Shirai says he is well aware of the competition from alternative approaches to fusion energy, fueled by an influx of private money into the field. But with competition comes opportunities for collaborations among those with new ideas. “Having many people coming into this area is a very good thing,” Shirai says."
Developing fusion power has been a long slog. But, it appears that some progress is being made.
Here's the link:
First Plasma at World's Largest Fusion Reactor
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