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Re:Nuclear fusion: WEST beats the world record for plasma du... by bezmiran on Tuesday February 18, 2025 @08:24PM (#43097455)
I am a plasma researcher, though not in the fusion field. Containment and stability are required on tokamaks to keep a plasma burning. Losing either of these will quench the reaction. The best way to control a plasma - magnetic fields, also causes significant instabilities, which is why fusion is so difficult.
Re:Nuclear fusion: WEST beats the world record for plasma du... by slavik81 on Tuesday February 18, 2025 @09:54PM (#43098028)
Could you elaborate on how magnetic fields cause instabilities? As a layman, it's not immediately obvious to me why that would be the case.
Re:Nuclear fusion: WEST beats the world record for plasma du... by treyd on Tuesday February 18, 2025 @10:46PM (#43098355)
Because the plasma itself is charged and moves within the field, generating eddy currents which self-interact in complex and unpredictable ways. At a much much larger scale, the twisting of magnetic fields from convection within the sun causes sunspots and other phenomena around the solar surface.
Re:Nuclear fusion: WEST beats the world record for plasma du... by Filligree on Tuesday February 18, 2025 @10:50PM (#43098366)
Have you tried implementing bacteria with them?