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Tests Confirm That Germany's Massive Nuclear Fusion Machine Really Works

posted by Snow on Tuesday December 06 2016, @11:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the pocket-full-of-sunshine dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

At the end of last year, Germany switched on a new type of massive nuclear fusion reactor for the first time, and it was successfully able to contain a scorching hot blob of helium plasma.

But since then, there's been a big question - is the device working the way it's supposed to? That's pretty crucial when you're talking about a machine that could potentially maintain controlled nuclear fusion reactions one day, and thankfully, the answer is yes.

A team of researchers from the US and Germany have now confirmed that the Wendelstein 7-X (W 7-X) stellerator is producing the super-strong, twisty, 3D magnetic fields that its design predicted, with "unprecedented accuracy". The researchers found an error rate less than one in 100,000.

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  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday December 07 2016, @03:13AM

    by edIII (791) on Wednesday December 07 2016, @03:13AM (#438188)

    IIRC, I think the fun is when you turn off the containment grid. BOOM!

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  • (Score: 2) by Some call me Tim on Wednesday December 07 2016, @04:20AM

    by Some call me Tim (5819) on Wednesday December 07 2016, @04:20AM (#438209)

    That's when you call Ghost Busters!

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    Questioning science is how you do science!

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by Bogsnoticus on Wednesday December 07 2016, @05:54AM

      by Bogsnoticus (3982) on Wednesday December 07 2016, @05:54AM (#438222)

      But if Chris answers the phone, hang up. Who wants the "B" team?

      --
      Genius by birth. Evil by choice.

      • (Score: 4, Funny) by Webweasel on Wednesday December 07 2016, @11:56AM

        by Webweasel (567) on Wednesday December 07 2016, @11:56AM (#438290) Homepage Journal

        The A Team were cancelled in 1987

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    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday December 07 2016, @04:50PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Wednesday December 07 2016, @04:50PM (#438415)

      Alternately, they should think about contacting Dr Otto Octavius for assistance.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.