This article was taken from the March issue of Wired UK
magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before
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In Japan, solar fusion is replicated at 100 million °C in a vast
After the disappointing outcome of the Copenhagen talks last
year, finding long-term solutions to the energy crisis became even
more urgent. At the Large Helical Device in Toki, 300km south-west
of Tokyo, physicists are attempting to replicate solar fusion on
Intertwined superconducting coils, cooled by liquid helium to
-269°C, produce a three-tesla magnetic field. This can hold a
plasma of hydrogen nuclei - at 100 million °C, five times hotter
than the Sun's core -- in the empty space between the coils.
At such temperatures, hydrogen atoms fuse, releasing energy.
Currently the energy required to do this is higher than that
generated, but future experiments should produce a surplus. Don't
forget to unplug before heading to bed.