Researchers at France's National Research Nuclear University claim to have found a way to help protect nuclear reactors from plasma damage, which could result in more reliable operation. Thermonuclear plants, like the ITER reactor being built in Moscow, could provide an almost inexhaustible energy source, if harmful unipolar arcs can be avoided, as these can destroy the tungsten wall of the reactor and cool the thermonuclear plasma. Dmitry Sinelnikov discovered a link between the emergence of unipolar arcs and subsequent formation of snowflake-like structures on tungsten, which influence the impact of an electric field.
Researchers at Moscow's National Research Nuclear University claim to have found a way to help protect nuclear reactors from plasma damage, which could result in more reliable operation. Thermonuclear plants, like the ITER reactor being built in France, could provide an almost inexhaustible energy source, if harmful unipolar arcs can be avoided, as these can destroy the tungsten wall of the reactor and cool the thermonuclear plasma. Dmitry Sinelnikov discovered a link between the emergence of unipolar arcs and subsequent formation of snowflake-like structures on tungsten, which influence the impact of an electric field.