Nuclear fusion is nearer

Scientists crack the code to stable Fusion Energy

"This is a groundbreaking work, that provides, for the first time, a  detailed understanding of the interaction between energetic ions and  ELMs. The results indicate that, for ITER, a strong energy and momentum  exchange between ELMs and energetic ions is expected."

“In our publication, we demonstrate that energetic ion kinetic effects can alter the spatio temporal structure of the edge localized modes. The effect is analogous to a surfer riding the wave. The surfer leaves  footprints on the wave when riding it. In a plasma, the energetic particle interacts with the MHD wave (the ELM) and can change its  spatio-temporal pattern. Our results can have important implications for the optimization of ELM control techniques. For instance, we could use energetic particles as active actuator in the control of these MHD waves  “ -  says author Jesús José Domínguez-Palacios Durán.

ELM stands for Edge Localized Mode, a phenomenon in plasma physics. ELMs are instabilities that occur at the edge of a confined plasma, such as in a tokamak.