'Now Fusion Has a Chance': New MIT Research Claims Fusion Power's 'Practicality' Has Been Proven

An anonymous reader shared this article from Futurism:More than two years since MIT claimed its scientists achieved a breakthrough in fusion energy, the university is claiming that new research "confirms" that the magnet-based design used in those tests isn't just impressive in a lab setting, but is practical and economically viable, too. These findings come from a comprehensive report which features six separate [peer-reviewed] studies published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity this month, assessing the feasibility of the superconductor magnets used by MIT scientists in their landmark test conducted in September 2021. "Together, the papers describe the design and fabrication of the magnet and the diagnostic equipment needed to evaluate its performance," MIT announced, "as well as the lessons learned from the process. "Overall, the team found, the predictions and computer modeling were spot-on, verifying that the magnet's unique design elements could serve as the foundation for a fusion power plant."The successful test of the magnet, says Hitachi America Professor of Engineering Dennis Whyte, who recently stepped down as director of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was "the most important thing, in my opinion, in the last 30 years of fusion research." Before the [2021] demonstration, the best-available superconducting magnets were powerful enough to potentially achieve fusion energy - but only at sizes and costs that could never be practical or economically viable. Then, when the tests showed the practicality of such a strong magnet at a greatly reduced size, "overnight, it basically changed the cost per watt of a fusion reactor by a factor of almost 40 in one day," Whyte says. "Now fusion has a chance," Whyte adds

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