The key to fusion power generation! A Japanese team unravels the mystery of "plasma startup" in a superconducting tokamak

Explanation

A research team from the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) and the University of Tokyo elucidated the mechanism by which plasma can be started up using only an extremely weak electric field—among the weakest levels in the world—in the fusion experimental device "JT-60SA." By skillfully utilizing a phenomenon called "trapped particles," which move back and forth along the magnetic field, they demonstrated that plasma can be efficiently heated by electromagnetic waves while maintaining its position even with a weak magnetic field. This achievement can also be applied to fusion reactors using larger superconducting coils, such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and represents an important step toward realizing fusion power generation as a future clean energy source.