British scientists announced a new record in thermonuclear energy production during tests at the Joint European Torus (JET) facilities near Oxford. This was reported by portal Tech Xplore, with reference to data from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
The team was able to produce 69 megajoules in five seconds using 0.2 milligrams of fuel. The previous maximum was reached in 2022 and was only 10 megajoules.
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) noted that 69 megajoules was enough to light 41,000 homes for five seconds.
Despite the new record, JET did not produce more energy than it took to start the reaction.
JET is a tokamak, a fusion reactor with a doughnut-shaped chamber. 0.1 milligram deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes) granules are placed inside the reactor. The fuel is then heated to a temperature 10 times higher than the temperature at the center of the Sun.
The result is a plasma held in place by powerful magnets. The hot substance releases huge amounts of thermal energy, four million times that that would be produced by burning an equivalent amount of coal, oil or gas.
Previous scientists was created Laser “spark plug” for thermonuclear reactor.