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The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego's General Atomics passes a milestone. Can nuclear fusion energy become a reality?
San Diego’s General Atomics passes a milestone. Can nuclear fusion energy become a reality?
The DIII-D facility is a cornerstone of research seeking to develop a virtually limitless, carbon-free source of power
By Rob Nikolewski | rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com | The San Diego Union-Tribune
UPDATED: October 25, 2024 at 2:51 p.m.
Two hundred thousand experiments at General Atomics down, and who knows how many more plasma shots to go. But scientists and researchers at the San Diego facility dedicated to harnessing the vast potential of nuclear fusion as a clean energy source believe they are getting close.
“Fusion is finally within reach,” said Richard Buttery, director of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, at a celebration Thursday commemorating the 200,000th shot — a plasma experiment inside the reactor that typically lasts five to 10 seconds.
No other facility in the world the size of DIII-D has recorded as many shots. The first shot, also described as a “pulse,” occurred in 1979 when the facility used a different design.
“Don’t think of 200,000 as just a number,” Buttery said. “It is an impressive feat, but consider what 200,000 means. Each shot represents a question answered, a technique tested, a problem solved … and each shot represents the next step building on what we’ve learned in the weeks, months and years before to bring fusion one step closer to reality.”
…
https://d3dfusion.orgThe DIII-D facility is a cornerstone of research seeking to develop a virtually limitless, carbon-free source of power
By Rob Nikolewski | rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com | The San Diego Union-Tribune
UPDATED: October 25, 2024 at 2:51 p.m.
Two hundred thousand experiments at General Atomics down, and who knows how many more plasma shots to go. But scientists and researchers at the San Diego facility dedicated to harnessing the vast potential of nuclear fusion as a clean energy source believe they are getting close.
“Fusion is finally within reach,” said Richard Buttery, director of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, at a celebration Thursday commemorating the 200,000th shot — a plasma experiment inside the reactor that typically lasts five to 10 seconds.
No other facility in the world the size of DIII-D has recorded as many shots. The first shot, also described as a “pulse,” occurred in 1979 when the facility used a different design.
“Don’t think of 200,000 as just a number,” Buttery said. “It is an impressive feat, but consider what 200,000 means. Each shot represents a question answered, a technique tested, a problem solved … and each shot represents the next step building on what we’ve learned in the weeks, months and years before to bring fusion one step closer to reality.”
…