Tokamak
magnetic confinement device used to produce thermonuclear fusion power
This article is about the fusion reaction device. For other uses, see Tokamak (disambiguation).
A tokamak (/ˈtoʊkəmæk/; Russian: токамáк) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field to confine plasma in the shape of a torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices being developed to produce controlled thermonuclear fusion power. As of 2021, it is the leading candidate for a practical fusion reactor.
China's Artificial Sun Just Smashed a Fusion World Record The formidable reactor reached 120 million degrees Celsius for an astounding 101 seconds.
BY CAROLINE DELBERT
JUN 7, 2021
China has set a new record for sustained nuclear plasma reaction.
The “artificial sun” tokamak reactor ran at 120 million Celsius for 101 seconds.
That’s a huge step—but we’re still far off from true sustained energy for fusion.
China’s “artificial sun” tokamak has sustained a plasma reaction for a whopping 101 seconds at 120 million degrees Celsius, setting new records in the field of nuclear fusion. The breakthrough could pave the way for a carbon-neutral energy future.
EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak), or HT-7U, is a custom-built fusion reactor that has operated in different phases since 2006. Like many of the world’s tokamak experiments, EAST has reached fusion before. As a refresher, inside the donut-shaped (or, sometimes, more spherical) containment of a tokamak, sun-hot plasma swirls in a circle that’s held in place by supercooled electromagnets.
Where does the heat go? When you release that much energy, it has to go someplace.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:44 am
by Maybenaut
bill_g wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:25 am
Where does the heat go? When you release that much energy, it has to go someplace.
It’s in Joe's house...right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin's house, and a hundred others.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:51 am
by bill_g
Well, these reactors are built like a donut, and donuts only last 110 seconds in the average person's hand. I wonder if this is just a coincidence? Are there a lot of donut shops near these reactors? Do Chinese eat donuts, or do their reactors make something else like noodles?
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:27 am
by neeneko
I suspect a lot of engineering design decisions come down to how hungry the drafter is and what shops are still open that time of night.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:55 am
by northland10
If they were not shaped like donuts but instead a whole box of Munchkins® Donut Holes and I were around, we're talking more like 48.6 seconds they would last. I have no self-control around them. They are my weakness, my kryptonite.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:29 pm
by Foggy
bill_g wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:51 am
Well, these reactors are built like a donut ...
Yes, that word torus is a cool one.
... and donuts only last 110 seconds in the average person's hand.
That's almost like TWO WHOLE MINNITS, which is unpossible. A torus in my hand is gone in under a minnit, in no more than three bites. Poof. Hundred and ten seconds, my ass. What do they do, study it before they take a bite? That's un-American!
bill_g wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:51 am
Well, these reactors are built like a donut ...
Yes, that word torus is a cool one.
... and donuts only last 110 seconds in the average person's hand.
That's almost like TWO WHOLE MINNITS, which is unpossible. A torus in my hand is gone in under a minnit, in no more than three bites. Poof. Hundred and ten seconds, my ass. What do they do, study it before they take a bite? That's un-American!
Well, polite company does not eat like John Belushi when others are looking. Perhaps in private.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:13 pm
by bill_g
neeneko wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:27 am
I suspect a lot of engineering design decisions come down to how hungry the drafter is and what shops are still open that time of night.
I suspect you're right. That Popular Mechanics link had a rabbit hole to fall into, and one of their links discussed lithium metal batteries. They explained the battery construction was like a BLT - bread, lettuce, tomatoe, bacon, tomatoe, lettuce, and finally bread. No discussion what role mayonnaise played. But, the battery sounded delicious.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:13 pm
by tek
Off Topic
I don't remember when I last had a donut.
Used to love them as a kid, and of course every 8am engineering/production meeting in the early '80s was equipped with donuts..
But other than Atkins Farms Cider donuts, I don't find today's donuts appealing at all. And I'm now 1400 miles from Atkins Farms.
neeneko wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:27 am
I suspect a lot of engineering design decisions come down to how hungry the drafter is and what shops are still open that time of night.
I suspect you're right. That Popular Mechanics link had a rabbit hole to fall into, and one of their links discussed lithium metal batteries. They explained the battery construction was like a BLT - bread, lettuce, tomatoe, bacon, tomatoe, lettuce, and finally bread. No discussion what role mayonnaise played. But, the battery sounded delicious.
That's it. The secret of how to make sustain fusion work is right there.
neeneko wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:27 am
I suspect a lot of engineering design decisions come down to how hungry the drafter is and what shops are still open that time of night.
I suspect you're right. That Popular Mechanics link had a rabbit hole to fall into, and one of their links discussed lithium metal batteries. They explained the battery construction was like a BLT - bread, lettuce, tomatoe, bacon, tomatoe, lettuce, and finally bread. No discussion what role mayonnaise played. But, the battery sounded delicious.
That's it. The secret of how to make sustain fusion work is right there.
MOREMAYO!!!
Maybe a donut or 20 on the side.
Make that with peanut butter, and I'm in. A peanut butter and mayo sammich is good. A mayo and donut sammich needs to be negotiated.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:58 pm
by Foggy
OMFG, mayonnaise on a donut.
This is part of the unraveling of the fabric of society. There's simply no bottom rung on the ladder.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 7:20 pm
by RTH10260
Mayo on a donut must be like pineapple on a pizza
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:25 am
by Lani
RTH10260 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 7:20 pm
Mayo on a donut must be like pineapple on a pizza
Nope - it's worse than pineapple pizza. It's easier to pull of the pineapple off a pizza and have an edible.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 5:04 am
by Sam the Centipede
A discussion of fusion cuisine?
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 5:58 am
by Uninformed
The right size pineapple ring would fit a doughnut perfectly.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 7:36 am
by bill_g
Sam the Centipede wrote: ↑Sat Nov 20, 2021 5:04 am
A discussion of fusion cuisine?
Yeah. Like kimchi ice cream, or anything with kale.
Chicken noodle soup pie.
Grilled salmon encrusted with dill and horseradish. (actually that is really good).
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 7:40 am
by Foggy
Off Topic
Yeah, threadjack.
So maybe it won't be nuclear fusion, or the invention of the tractor beam.
NEVERTHELESS, I do fully expect at least two, maybe three more enormously important new invention/technologies to emerge in my lifetime. I mean the kind of thing that changes society utterly, like the personal computer and the smart phone.
I'm so old I remember getting up and walking across the room to change the channel on a crappy little B&W Tee Vee, and there were only three channels available (and maybe some grainy UHF). The changes in technology that I've already witnessed are mind-blowing, incredible, akin to what Arthur C. Clarke said is functionally magic.
And 98% of the scientists and engineers who ever lived in the history of the world are still alive. Back in the day, there weren't many. Today, I'm a dad of two STEM superstars.
The pace of technology is accelerating. There's no limit to it. Get your mind right, 'cause you ain't seen nothing yet.
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:15 pm
by RTH10260
The Eagle has landed .... I mean the first torus segment...
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:19 pm
by RTH10260
DIY
Re: Fusion Reaction
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 1:53 pm
by neeneko
Heh. Well, that sent me down a fun rabbit hole. I've seen people build home cyclotrons and fuzor style fusion reactors at home, and am now having a bit of fun poking around what one could potentially do with a model tokamak as a hobbyest.
