Using new superconductors, MIT has a novel design to create an ARC fusion reactor

08/11/2015 - 19:31

David L. Chandler


It’s an old joke that many fusion scientists have grown tired of hearing: Practical nuclear fusion power plants are just 30 years away — and always will be.

But now, finally, the joke may no longer be true: Advances in magnet technology have enabled researchers at MIT to propose a new design for a practical compact tokamak fusion reactor — and it’s one that might be realized in as little as a decade, they say. The era of practical fusion power, which could offer a nearly inexhaustible energy resource, may be coming near.

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ARC: A compact, high-field, fusion nuclear science facility and demonstration power plant with demountable magnets. Ref: arxiv.org/pdf/1409.3540v1