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Yes, confinement by running a current through the plasma is well known. First use was by the ZETA experiment in 1957. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-pinch http
by sbierwagen 6y ago
Yes, confinement by running a current through the plasma is well known. First use was by the ZETA experiment in 1957. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-pinch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-pinch
The eternal problem in science journalism: a scientist will explain how their machine works, and the journalist will get the impression that they have independently invented each part of the apparatus, with no prior art. The incentives encourage it: the scientist wants to take credit for everything possible, and the journalist wants to report on a maximally new and exciting machine.
- njarboe 6y agoI agree, a journalists description of such new fusion concept is unlikely to be useful to people trying to understand what is new about the concept. I am not a fusion scientist, but my dad is the "Tom Jarboe" in the article. From my limited understanding from talking to him, the main reason that they think the dynomak design has a chance of working is because they solved the problem of adding energy to a stable plasma without disrupting it by using a new type of helicity injector. Not sure if it would really work, but hopefully they can get enough funds to try.