Numerous castles, a popular automobile industry, and a rich cultural heritage filled with beer, sausages, and gummy bears. It seems as though this country has it all, yet it has not ceased to amaze the rest of the world. This country’s researchers discovered a new source of energy that reached the 20,000,000ºC milestone, which is beyond the limits of physics. All we can say is that it is “sehr toll!”

The country that reached a new milestone

Technology advances daily, and it’s a good thing, too, as these advances contribute to dedicated people trying to lower the global carbon footprint. The global mission to reach carbon zero by 2050 might seem an impossible feat, but as technology advances, so does the renewable energy industry. Renewable energy sources are the most suitable alternatives to the traditional fossil fuels that we have depended on for power for too long.

Unfortunately, many renewable sources have their limits and may not supply the required efficiencies to unlock eco-friendly and cost-effective power for residential and commercial applications. However, all of that is about to change, as German scientists have made a major breakthrough in a source that goes beyond the limits of physics.

A source of energy that goes beyond the limits of physics

This breakthrough utilized a renewable power source by turning to a process that naturally occurs in stars, such as our Sun, 24/7. Stars are powered by the merging of two light atomic nuclei, which creates a heavy single nucleus and then releases large amounts of energy. This process is called nuclear fusion, and scientists believe the replication of this process will provide mankind with eco-friendly, continuous power with zero emissions, and lower radioactive waste in comparison to current nuclear plants.

Nuclear fusion is not a new concept, and many have tried to replicate it by utilizing fusion reactors, which are still in an experimental stage. The main focus has been on the tokamak, a type of reactor that utilizes magnetic coils to enclose plasma in a chamber through magnetic field production. But scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics have been focusing on a stellarator called the Wendelstein 7-X, and its results were much better than anticipated.

The Wendelstein 7-X forms part of a global effort to equip nuclear fusion as an alternative to fossil fuels and traditional nuclear fission reactors. It has a diameter of 50 feet, a height of 16 feet, and is fueled by low-density and electrically charged hydrogen gas. In the city of Greifswald, the scientists set a new world record in fusion physics, thanks to the Wendelstein 7-X. The reactor recorded the highest performing sustained fusion experiment after operating over 30 seconds, with fusion lasting 43 seconds.

This is how these scientists reached the new milestone

The stellarator’s design is able to replicate the process inside stars. The fusion device encloses hot, charged plasma to fuel fusion reactions in twisty magnetic fields. The plasma must meet three states before nuclear fusion can occur, which are:

Ample temperature
Sufficient density
Adequate entrapment time

These three states are referred to as the ‘triple product,’ which is a crucial nuclear fusion physics metric. The higher the triple product, the higher the fusion power, and the higher the potential of a successful, self-sustaining fusion reaction. Thus, the reactor manages to produce more energy than it utilizes. The scientists’ record reached a triple product record, with plasma hotter than 20,000,000°C and peaking at 30,000,000°C. The high-performance plasma was sustained for 43 seconds.

Power-plant-capable stellarators might be powering the world before we know it. As scientists continue to make breakthroughs in nuclear fusion, the world will be entering a new era of clean, sustainable power soon, and Earth will surely be thanking us.

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