Although nuclear fusion has long been a pipe dream of scientists since the 1950s, German scientists have taken one step closer to making it possible through the injection of hydrogen into their Wendelstein 7-X fusion device, which led to the heating of the gas into plasma, if only just for a moment, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
The device does not produce energy from plasma, but the experiment is the first that may be able to reveal the feasibility of the design for its use as a power plant. If this turns out to be possible, scientists may be able to reveal one of the many lingering questions regarding nuclear fusion.
"With a temperature of 80 million degrees and a lifetime of a quarter of a second, the device's first hydrogen plasma has completely lived up to our expectations," said Hans-Stephan Bosch, who worked on the Wendelstein 7-X, in a press release.
Currently, there are two different fusion power plant designs - the tokamak, which includes the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor being designed in France, and the stellarators such as the Wendelstein 7-X, which is the world's largest at the moment.
In approximately four years, the Wendelstein 7-X's full heating power will be tested, as well as its ability to conduct 30-minute discharges. If these tests prove successful, the results will support the notion that stellarators possess an advantage over tokamaks in the form of continuous operation as opposed to pulses.
"The impressive results obtained in the startup of the machine were remarkable," David Anderson, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin, told CBS News. "W7-X is a truly remarkable achievement and the worldwide fusion community looks forward to many exciting results."
