The Popular Stellarator Wendelstein 7-X Broke A New Record

The German Fusion Miracle Wendelstein 7-X is being constantly upgraded and the largest stellarator in the world in rewarding the scientists from the Max Planck Institute with extraordinary results. Just recently it broke the stellarator record for the temperature and density of the plasma.

This wide-angle view inside the W7-X stellarator
By Gwurden CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Since September 2017 the inside of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator lined with graphite plates allowing it to reach higher temperatures for a long time. Newly it also has a diverter that removes unwanted atoms from the plasma during the stellarators operation. That allows them to check the purity and density of the plasma. And since the end of 2017, the stellarator also has new equipment for measuring data and systems for heating the plasma.

All of these improvements contributed to the new records. Wendelstein 7-X created a fusion product with a parameter of 6 times 10 to the power of 26 Celsius meters cubed per second – a new world record for stellarators. This is a great result for a device this size and was made under realistic conditions.

This year in autumn, Wendelstein 7-X should go through another upgrade. The graphite lining should be replaced with components from special carbon materials that will on top of that be cooled by water. After this upgrade, the stellarator should be capable of holding the plasma for up to 30 minutes further pushing the limits of testing this incredible piece of technology.

• http://www.ipp.mpg.de/4413312/04_18

---

• If you like the content I’m producing about science maybe you will like the content I produce about gaming as well! Be sure to check out my other blogs!
• @gaming-trail Where we are your everyday source of gaming-news!
• @kralizec Where I review video games and make commentaries about video games