Nuclear fusion breakthrough takes world one step closer to harnessing limitless star power

Experts at Switzerland's EPFL have revised one of the fundamental laws that has been foundational to plasma and fusion research for over three decades. They have proved that it is possible to safely utilise more hydrogen fuel in fusion reactors. That means that scientists will be able to obtain more energy from the process than previously thought.

Projects, including the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France, are attempting to to replicate the fusion processes used by stars inside what is known as a tokamak here on Earth.

These generate high-temperature plasma that provides the right environment for fusion to occur.

Now, a new study has been released to update the principles of this generation – showing that projects like ITER can actually operate with twice the amount of hydrogen.

Professor Paolo Ricci, from the Swiss Plasma Center, said: “In order to create plasma for fusion, you have to consider three things – high temperature, high density of hydrogen fuel, and good confinement.

“One of the limitations in making plasma inside a tokamak is the amount of hydrogen fuel you can inject into it.

“Since the early days of fusion, we’ve known that if you try to increase the fuel density, at some point there would be what we call a ‘disruption’ – basically you totally lose the confinement, and plasma goes wherever."

Prof Ricci and his team have been able to crack this code and put “pen to paper” to derive a new equation for fuel limit in a tokamak.

Fusion is tipped as the "holy grail" energy source as it opens up the possibility of creating limitless power by harnessing the same power created by our Sun.

READ MORE: UK in major breakthrough as it moves 'step closer' to harnessing limitless star energy

Richard Dinan, the founder of Pulsar Fusion, explained to Science Digest: "People associate nuclear with nasty explosives. That happened after Einstein discovered the power locked up inside an atom.

"Humans being humans, we took that force and raced to make a bomb out of it.

"The way you make a bomb is you take the heaviest possible atoms, like uranium, and you enrich them until the point that they literally leak particles.

"You can use that to create a chain reaction and create a bomb.

"It was unquestionably one of the worst things we've ever invented.

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"On the other side of that same power is getting very light elements and making them heavier – and that's fusion."

Mr Dinan, whose company is looking to power rockets with nuclear fusion, says ITER can unlock a "really powerful" fusion burn.

He added: "ITER will give us a really powerful fusion burn. It's a man-made star on Earth that we will turn on in a few years' time.

"It will give us a more powerful energy reaction than anything ever achieved by man."

You can watch the full interview with Mr Dinan here.