Currently used electromagnets in fusion experiments are capable of creating monumental magnetic fields. But they are also quite vulnerable to high-energy particles. They would not survive being used in a fusion power plant.
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Tokamaks are still playing a major role in the race toward fusion energy. In them and other types of fusion devices, the high-energy plasma is held by incredibly powerful magnetic fields created by powerful electromagnets making them one of the key components of a fusion reactor.
Sadly, electromagnets are also one of the main weaknesses of fusion technology. Energetic neutrons are constantly flying off the cloud of plasma just like angry wasps. And they also fly through the isolation of the electromagnets of the fusion reactors. They can easily damage this isolation, lowering their output, and also significantly reducing their lifespan.
Yuhu Zhai – the research lead at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) acknowledges what that means. We won’t be able to do true fusion power plants with current electromagnets. If we want to build and run fusion power plants that will produce energy for days at a time we will need better electromagnets as current ones wouldn’t survive for long. A fusion power plant would produce too many high-energy particles – many times more than our fusion experiments.
Zhai and his team suggest we use a new type of magnet that they created from especially warmed-up wires of niobium and tin. This created a superconductor and as the current can move through practically without resistance the material thus requires no isolation. This should result in the electromagnet being much less prone to damage from high-energy particles coming from the cloud of plasma while also increasing its power.
And the probably most important benefit is that it should be cheaper and easier to make for practical purposes.
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