chanelink logo
CHANELINK
Français

Oxford University Tokamak Energy Company develops laser technology for fusion power plants

113
2024-03-14 15:00:07
Voir la traduction

Tokamak Energy is currently developing a new laser measurement technology for controlling extreme conditions inside fusion power plants.
The laser based dispersion interferometer system is being tested at the company's headquarters in Oxford and will be installed on its world record breaking fusion machine ST40 later this year.

Clean, safe, and renewable nuclear fusion power generation occurs inside the tokamak, which is a device that heats plasma to over 100 million degrees Celsius.
A professional laser system will closely and accurately measure the hydrogen fuel contained inside, ensuring that the burning plasma remains stable and maintains density.

Dr. Tadas Pyragius, a plasma physicist at Tokamak Energy, explained, "Measuring plasma density is key to our understanding and control of fusion fuels and future efficient power plant operations.".
The interaction between laser beams emitted by plasma and electrons tells us the density of fuel, which is crucial for sustained fusion conditions and providing safe and reliable energy to the power grid.

"The extreme conditions caused by the nuclear fusion process mean that we now need to improve laser based diagnostic technology to advance our mission of providing clean, safe, and affordable nuclear fusion energy in the 2030's."
The ST40 of Tokamak Energy is the first private nuclear fusion machine to achieve a plasma ion temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius, which is the threshold for commercial nuclear fusion.

Since achieving a breakthrough in 2022, the machine has undergone a series of hardware upgrades, including new power supplies and diagnostic systems.
Last year, the company successfully debugged the Thomson scattering laser diagnostic instrument for ST40 to provide detailed readings of plasma temperature and density at specific locations.
After further upgrades and maintenance, the machine will be put back into use later in 2024.

Source: Laser Net

Recommandations associées

  • AMCM 8 laser M 8K metal 3D printing equipment is about to be launched, equipped with 8 lasers

    In October 2023, Germany's AMCM (EOS, a global technology leader in industrial grade additive manufacturing) announced the upcoming launch of the M 8K metal 3D printing equipment. The device will be equipped with 8 lasers, with a construction volume of 800 x 800 x 1200 millimeters, nearly four times the size of AMCM's previously launched M 4K metal 3D printing device on the market.ArianeGroup's ho...

    2023-10-19
    Voir la traduction

  • The Ruefeng 30w picosecond laser brings unprecedented possibilities in the art of cutting resin eye lenses

    Ruifeng Picosecond laser: Open the door to the art of cutting resin eye lensesAs an important innovation in the modern eyewear industry, resin lenses bring us visual clarity and comfort with their lightness, transparency and impact resistance.However, with the continuous improvement of people's demand for quality and personalization, how to achieve accurate and beautiful cutting on resin eye lense...

    2023-09-14
    Voir la traduction

  • New types of lenses in optics: Researchers develop hybrid achromatic lenses with high focusing efficiency

    Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign have developed compact visible wavelength achromatic mirrors using 3D printing and porous silicon, which are crucial for miniaturization and lightweight optical devices. These high-performance hybrid micro optical devices can achieve high focusing efficiency while minimizing volume and thickness. In addition, these microlenses c...

    2023-12-11
    Voir la traduction

  • Outlook - Future of miniaturized lasers

    The disruptive miniaturization design of fiber lasers is feeding back into the handheld laser welding market. The handheld laser welding that enters the trunk is bathed in the luster of black technology, making traditional argon arc welding and electric welding tremble.In the early years, argon arc welding was the most commonly used thin plate welding method among our ancestors, but its drawbacks ...

    2023-12-19
    Voir la traduction

  • Xi'an Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics has made new progress in the research of intelligent optical microscopy imaging

    Recently, the State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics Technology of Xi'an Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics has made new progress in the research of intelligent optical microscopic imaging, and the research results were published online in the international high-level academic journal Opto Electronic Advances (IF: 15.3). The first author of the paper is Tian Xuan, a 2024 doctor...

    2024-09-09
    Voir la traduction