<h2>Wrestle the Vessel</h2>
A team of scientists achieved high pressure plasma — perhaps laying the groundwork to achieve fusion power, according to a <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/03/physicists-flip-the-d-in-tokamak-get-unexpectedly-good-result/">terrific explainer</a> by Ars Technica — at an old fusion reactor in San Diego by reversing the orientation of the vessel that houses the plasma.
Despite the promising results, whether or not the modification will lay the groundwork for useful fusion power in the future is still far from certain — but, at the very least, it&#8217;s a fascinating example of squeezing interesting research out of dated equipment.
<h2>Tokamak Triumph</h2>
One possible route to practical fusion power takes the form of a massive and highly complex device called a &#8220;tokamak reactor,&#8221; which confines high energy magnetic fields to control charged particles called plasma. Once both temperature and pressure levels are right, colliding particles release massive amounts of energy — or at least that&#8217;s the idea.
For the first time, researchers are finally inching closer to getting more energy out than they put in. The San Diego team — whose <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.115001">paper on the findings</a> was published in the journal Physical Review Letters — flipped the orientation of the plasma chamber of an old tokamak reactor called DIII-D, which has been in operation since the 80s.
The result, according to Ars&#8216; analysis, was surprising: pressure ramped up enough to meet the requirements for fusion power reactions to occur, with energy levels much higher than expected. The plasma was also more stable — a big deal when it comes to observing fusion reactions inside a tokamak.
<h2>Bigger Next Time</h2>
As Ars points out, &#8220;in practice, DIII-D can never reach the right temperature or pressure for fusion, because it’s not big enough.&#8221;
But since scientists understand how the machines scale, a bigger fusion reactor could prove to be even more promising. The scientists are hoping to try a similar experiment, but with ramped up power. Maybe the result will surprise them again.
READ MORE: <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/03/physicists-flip-the-d-in-tokamak-get-unexpectedly-good-result/">Physicists “flip the D” in tokamak, get unexpectedly good result</a> [Ars Technica]
More on fusion power: <a href="https://futurism.com/fusion-power-practical">Expert: “I&#8217;m 100 Percent Confident” Fusion Power Will Be Practical</a>

At the very least, it's a fascinating example of squeezing interesting research out of dated equipment.

Scientists just got amazing results from an old fusion reactor

Earth & Energy

A team of scientists found they achieved high pressure plasma and energy — in theory enough to achieve fusion power — at an old fusion reactor in San Diego.

Scientists Just Got Amazing Results From an Old Fusion Reactor

A simple change led to higher pressure and stabler plasma.

Does it ever feel like your world is being swallowed by a giant black hole? Turns out you might be on to something.
Here are six stories in the world of science that caught our attention this week.
<a href="http://futurism.com/black-hole-milky-way/">New Image Confirms a Black Hole is Swallowing Our Galaxy.</a> New evidence confirms the existence of Sagittarius A*, a black hole long assumed to reside at the center of the Milky Way.
<a href="https://futurism.com/stem-cell-transplant-multiple-sclerosis/">A Stem Cell Transplant Let a Wheelchair-Bound Man Dance Again</a>. A man bound to a wheelchair for 10 years by multiple sclerosis (MS) can now walk and dance following an experimental stem cell transplant.
<a href="https://futurism.com/ozone-destroying-emissions-china/">Report Identifies China as the Source of Ozone-Destroying Emissions.</a> A new report narrows down the source of the emissions that continue to destroy the ozone, despite being banned since 2010.
<a href="https://futurism.com/nuclear-fusion-research-billionaires/">Tech Billionaires Are Pouring Money Into Fusion Research.</a> A slew of tech billionaires, including Bill Gates and Richard Branson, are determined to make cost-effective nuclear fusion a reality.
<a href="http://futurism.com/arecibo-message-aliens/">Scientists Want Your Help Crafting a Message to Aliens.</a> Scientists want to craft an updated version of the Arecibo Message, a radio communication that marked humanity&#8217;s first attempt to talk to aliens.
<a href="http://futurism.com/nasa-scientists-extract-rocket-fuel-martian-soil/">NASA Scientists Think They Can Extract Rocket Fuel From Martian Soil.</a> NASA is hard at work on a &#8220;factory&#8221; that would let future Mars missions — or even colonists — extract rocket fuel from Martian soil.
Read More: <a href="https://futurism.com/week-science-oct-13-oct-20/">This Week in Science: Oct 13 – Oct 20</a>

If you could write aliens a message, what would it be?

This week in science: Oct 27 – Nov 2

This Week in Science

From giant black holes swallowing our galaxy to the cutting edge of stem cell research, here are our top science stories of the week.

This Week in Science: Oct 27 – Nov 2

Giant black holes, fusion research, messages to aliens, and more

We may be one large step closer to a future driven by fusion power — the elusive, limitless, and zero-carbon energy source that&#8217;s even a step-up from renewables. <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2018/mit-newly-formed-company-launch-novel-approach-fusion-power-0309" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A collaboration between MIT and a new private company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS),</a> aims to bring the world&#8217;s first fusion power plant online in the next 15 years, using a novel approach.
Fusion powers the sun and other stars. It involves lighter atoms like hydrogen smashing together to form heavier elements, like helium, and releasing massive amounts of energy while doing so. This energy release happens, however, at very, very extreme temperatures — in the range of hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius — which would melt any material it came in contact with.
So, in order to experiment with fusion in the laboratory, researchers use magnetic fields to hold that smashed together soup of subatomic particles, called plasma, suspended and away from the walls of the experimental chamber. The trickiness of using fusion as a form of energy is that, to date, every experiment has yielded net negative energy  — meaning more energy goes into heating that subatomic soup than comes out for potential use.
<a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/03/09/new-approach-fusion-energy-starts-today/cc7kpF93xLaopO5xdobKIO/story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Now, this collaboration is launching an experiment known as SPARC</a>, which will use new, high-temperature superconductors to build smaller, more powerful high-field magnets to power an experimental fusion reactor. SPARC&#8217;s goal? The first-ever net positive energy gain from fusion.
<figure id="attachment_126547" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-126547 size-full" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/03/SPARC.jpg" alt="Vizualization of proposed SPARC experiment. Image Credit: Visualization by Ken Filar, PSFC research affiliate" width="639" height="426" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Visualization of the proposed SPARC experiment. Image Credit: Visualization by Ken Filar, PSFC research affiliate.</figcaption></figure>
This fusion experiment is designed to produce 100 megawatts of heat, thanks to those new magnets. It won&#8217;t turn that heat into electricity, but in 10-second pulses, it could produce twice the power needed to heat the plasma, and as much power as is used by a small city.
“This is an important historical moment: Advances in superconducting magnets have put fusion energy potentially within reach, offering the prospect of a safe, carbon-free energy future,&#8221; MIT President L. Rafael Reif told MIT News. 
While this team&#8217;s approach to fusion power seems promising; a number of previous collaborations were unable to get fusion energy off the ground. <a href="https://futurism.com/technique-allow-scientists-create-fusion-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Researchers at the University of New South Wales </a>tried, and failed, to create fusion through hydrogen-boron reactions.
<a href="https://futurism.com/wait-fusion-power-coming-end/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France</a> is also making progress, but SPARC is set to dethrone the project in terms of size. SPARC will be only 1/65th of ITER&#8217;s volume, because these new high-field magnets make it possible to build smaller fusion plants needed to achieve a given level of power.
If SPARC is successful, and the fusion project design proliferates worldwide, it&#8217;s possible fusion energy could start to help meet global energy demands. Researching carbon-free fusion energy is critical during an era in which greenhouse gases continue to drive climate change.
&#8220;The aspiration is to have a working power plant in time to combat climate change,&#8221; Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/09/nuclear-fusion-on-brink-of-being-realised-say-mit-scientists">told The Guardian</a>. &#8220;We think we have the science, speed and scale to put carbon-free fusion power on the grid in 15 years.&#8221;

We could be seeing a fusion power plant go online in just 15 years.

MIT is taking on fusion power. Could this be the time it actually works?

Hard Science

An international collaboration, including researchers from MIT, is harnessing a new type of superconducting magnet to herald a fusion-powered future.

MIT Is Taking on Fusion Power. Could This Be the Time It Actually Works?

"We think we have the science, speed and scale to put carbon-free fusion power on the grid in 15 years."

Renewable energy sources like solar and wind account for a <a class=" vilynx_listened" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/139-countries-could-transition-100-renewable-energy-under-new-plan-n795086">growing share of the world’s electric power</a>. That’s no surprise, given concerns about the carbon emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants and their harmful effect on the climate.
Nuclear energy offers some advantages over renewables, including the ability to make electricity when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. But today’s nuclear plants use fission, which splits atoms of rare metals like uranium. Fission creates radioactive waste and can be hard to control — as evidenced by reactor accidents like those at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and <a class=" vilynx_listened" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fukushima-operator-admits-it-didn-t-reveal-meltdown-months-n525431">Fukushima</a>.
Another form of nuclear energy known as fusion, which joins atoms of cheap and abundant hydrogen, can produce essentially limitless supplies of power without creating lots of radioactive waste.
Fusion has powered the sun for billions of years. Yet despite decades of effort, scientists and engineers have been unable to generate sustained nuclear fusion here on Earth. In fact, it’s long been joked that fusion is 50 years away, and will always be.
But now it looks as if the long wait for commercial fusion power may be coming to an end — and sooner than in half a century.
<h2 data-reactid="137">Leading the Charge</h2>
One of the brightest hopes for controlled nuclear fusion, the giant <a href="https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/2877">ITER reactor at Cadarache in southeastern France</a>, is now on track to achieve nuclear fusion operation in the mid- to late-2040s, says Dr. William Madia, a former director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory who led an independent review of the ITER project in 2013.
Construction of the ITER reactor — a doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber known as a “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamak">tokamak</a>” that spans more than 60 feet — recently passed the halfway point.
Madia says the <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/02/updated-new-review-slams-fusion-projects-management">decades needed to bring the ITER reactor to full operation</a> reflect the huge engineering challenges still facing fusion researchers. These include building reactor walls that can withstand the intense heat of the fusion reaction — about 150 million degrees Celsius (270 million degrees Fahrenheit), or 10 times hotter than the core of the sun.
And then there’s the challenge of creating superconducting materials that can generate the powerful magnetic fields needed to hold the fusion reaction in place.
ITER has international backing and a budget of more than $14 billion. But it&#8217;s not the only promising effort in the long quest for sustained nuclear fusion, or what some have called a “star in a jar.”
<h2 data-reactid="154">Lots of Competition</h2>
Several smaller fusion projects, including commercial reactors being developed by Lockheed Martin in the U.S., General Fusion in Canada, and Tokamak Energy in the U.K., aim to feed fusion-generated power to electricity grids years before ITER produces its first fusion reactions.
“Our target is to deliver commercial power to the grid by 2030,” says <a href="https://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/news-resources/videos/">Tokamak Energy’s</a> founder, Dr. David Kingham.
Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works engineering division is developing a compact fusion reactor that uses cylindrical magnetic fields to confine the fusion reaction instead of the donut-shaped reactor being built at the ITER site.
The company foresees its fusion reactors replacing the fission reactors used in warships and submarines — and being put on trucks so they can be deployed wherever power is needed. A <a href="https://lockheedmartin.com/us/products/compact-fusion.html">100-megawatt fusion reactor that fits on the back of a truck</a> could generate enough power for 100,000 people, according to the company.
Other fusion power projects include the <a href="http://www.ipp.mpg.de/w7x">Wendelstein 7-X fusion reactor</a> in Germany, which uses an alternative to ITER’s tokamak design known as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellarator">stellarator</a>. Like ITER, the German reactor is backed by an international consortium and serves mainly for experimental research.
Exactly which, if any, of these initiatives will crack the fusion nut is still uncertain. But experts hope fusion power one day can make <a href="http://fire.pppl.gov/energy_eu_wec01.pdf">fossil-fuel-fired plants and nuclear fission reactors obsolete</a>, along with most of their environmental problems.
And we can take heart that the remaining challenges are all just a matter of advanced engineering. Says Madia, “We know the science is absolutely real because we can see it happening in the sun every day.”
The Long Wait for Fusion Power May Be Coming to an End was originally published by NBC Universal Media, LLC on December 29, 2017 by Tom Metcalfe. Copyright 2017 NBC Universal Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Nuclear fusion can produce essentially limitless supplies of power without creating excess radioactive waste.

The long wait for fusion power may be coming to an end

Fusion power has the potential to provide limitless energy with little waste. There are many challenges still ahead, but we may have less time to wait.

The Long Wait for Fusion Power May Be Coming to an End

"We know the science is absolutely real because we can see it happening in the sun every day."

An unlimited source of clean energy is on the horizon, but just how far away is the horizon?

Watch: How Far Away is Fusion Power?

<h2>“Years, Not Decades”</h2>
Earlier this month the newest fusion reactor in the U.K., <a href="http://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/">Tokamak Energy&#8217;s</a> ST40, <a href="https://futurism.com/a-world-first-fusion-reactor-just-created-its-first-plasma/">achieved first plasma</a>. This milestone event on the road to fusion energy signals the viability of the company&#8217;s overall timetable. The more immediate aim for the ST40 is to achieve a temperature of 15,000,000 °C (27,000,000 °F), as hot as the center of the sun — this should happen in autumn of 2017 based on the progress thus far.
The company will then use what it learns from working with the ST40 to construct a tokamak device that is larger than the ST40, yet still notably smaller than traditional reactors. This should advance the company toward its goal of producing electricity from fusion by 2025. Ultimately, a successful power generator in 2025 will provide the foundation for the modules of a power plant that can deliver fusion electricity to the grid by 2030.
<iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YNrhTYhUXJc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
On the day the ST40 was put into operation, Tokamak Energy CEO David Kingham <a href="http://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/first-plasma-in-new-reactor-brings-the-uk-a-big-step-closer-to-fusion-energy/" target="_blank">commented in a press release</a>, “The ST40 is a machine that will show fusion temperatures – 100 million degrees – are possible in compact, cost-effective reactors. This will allow fusion power to be achieved in years, not decades.”
<h2>Affordable, Accessible Fusion Power</h2>
Nuclear fusion is critical to generating affordable, clean power that is accessible to everyone because it is the source capable of generating by far the most energy. Even compared to nuclear fission, a fusion reaction yields much more energy — about <a href="https://futurism.com/4-energy-generating-fusion-devices-move-closer-to-reality/" target="_blank">four times as much</a> — with very low carbon emissions.
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/fusion-energy-a-practical-guide-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/06/fusion-energy_home_v1.jpg" alt="Fusion Energy: A Practical Guide [Infographic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/fusion-energy-a-practical-guide-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
At this point, Tokamak Energy CEO David Kingham is optimistic and believes the company is at about the halfway mark relative to the 2030 end goal of feeding fusion power into the grid. In an article produced for EngineerLive, <a href="http://www.engineerlive.com/content/fusion-food-thought" target="_blank">he wrote</a>, “The goals on our route to achieving fusion power are bold and ambitious, but it is a challenge that must be tackled if we are to deliver the essential decarbonization of our energy supply.”

The small, spherical Tokamak ST40 reactor is on track to reach its next goal of hitting the 15,000,000 °C (27,000,000 °F) mark this autumn.

Mini Reactors Could Make Affordable Fusion Power a Reality by 2030

Limitless, clean energy is possible.

<h2>Achieving First Plasma</h2>
After being turned on for the first time, the UK&#8217;s newest fusion reactor has achieved first plasma. This simply means that the reactor was able to successfully generate a molten mass of electrically-charged gas — plasma — inside its core.
Called the ST40, the reactor was constructed by <a href="http://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/">Tokamak Energy</a>, one of the leading private fusion energy companies in the world. The company was founded in 2009 with the express purpose of designing and developing small fusion reactors to introduce fusion power into the grid by 2030.
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/fusion-energy-a-practical-guide-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/06/fusion-energy_home_v1.jpg" alt="Fusion Energy: A Practical Guide [Infographic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/fusion-energy-a-practical-guide-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
Now that the ST40 is running, the company will commission and install the complete set of magnetic coils needed to reach fusion temperatures. The ST40 should be creating a plasma temperature as hot as the center of the Sun — 15 million degrees Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit) — by Autumn 2017.
By 2018, the ST40 will produce plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million degrees Fahrenheit), another record-breaker for a privately owned and funded fusion reactor. That temperature threshold is important, as it is the minimum temperature for inducing the controlled fusion reaction. Assuming the ST40 succeeds, it will prove that its <a href="https://futurism.com/tokamak-reactors/">novel design</a> can produce commercially viable fusion power.
Tokamak Energy CEO David Kingham <a href="http://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/first-plasma-in-new-reactor-brings-the-uk-a-big-step-closer-to-fusion-energy/" target="_blank">commented in a press release</a>: “Today is an important day for fusion energy development in the UK, and the world. We are unveiling the first world-class controlled fusion device to have been designed, built, and operated by a private venture. The ST40 is a machine that will show fusion temperatures – 100 million degrees – are possible in compact, cost-effective reactors. This will allow fusion power to be achieved in years, not decades.”
<h2>Fusion Power: Coming Sooner</h2>
<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/the-uk-has-just-switch-on-its-tokamak-nuclear-fusion-reactor" target="_blank">Nuclear fusion</a> is a potentially revolutionary power source. It is the same process that fuels stars like our Sun, and could produce a potentially limitless supply of clean energy without producing dirty waste or any <a href="https://futurism.com/if-we-want-to-survive-we-need-to-go-carbon-neutral/">significant amount of carbon emissions</a>. In contrast to nuclear fission, the atom splitting that today&#8217;s nuclear reactors engage in, nuclear fusion requires salt and water, and involves fusing atoms together. Its primary waste product is helium. It&#8217;s easy to see why scientists have tried to figure out how to achieve this here on Earth, but thus far it&#8217;s been elusive.
The <a href="https://futurism.com/theres-no-argument-against-nuclear-power/">journey toward fusion energy</a> undertaken by Tokamak Energy is planned in the short-term and moving quickly; the company has already achieved its half-way goal for fusion power delivery. Their ultimate targets include producing the first electricity using the ST40 by 2025 and producing commercially <a href="https://futurism.com/fusion-energy-compact-spherical-tokamak-is-100-times-smaller-than-iter-could-operate-decades-earlier/">viable fusion power by 2030</a>.
Kingham remarked in the press release: “We will still need significant investment, many academic and industrial collaborations, dedicated and creative engineers and scientists, and an excellent supply chain. Our approach continues to be to break the journey down into a series of engineering challenges, raising additional investment on reaching each new milestone.”

Green glowing fusion with plasma force field

Tokamak Energy's fusion reactor has achieved first plasma and is on track to produce temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius by 2018.

A “World First” Fusion Reactor Just Created Its First Plasma

“This will allow fusion power to be achieved in years, not decades.”

<h2>Say Hello to the Sun</h2>
When it comes to obtaining new energy, solar energy now costs less than fossil fuels, according to a <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Renewable_Infrastructure_Investment_Handbook.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> by the World Economic Forum (WEF). <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-15/world-energy-hits-a-turning-point-solar-that-s-cheaper-than-wind" target="_blank">Data</a> from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) also show decreased prices, with the mean price of solar power in about 60 countries dropping to $1.65 million per megawatt, closely followed by wind at $1.66 million per megawatt.
<a href="https://www.weforum.org/press/2016/12/a-convenient-truth-fighting-climate-change-turned-into-a-profitable-business/" target="_blank">Michael Drexler</a>, Head of Long Term Investing, Infrastructure and Development at the World Economic Forum, found the downturn in prices to be an encouraging sign.
<blockquote>&#8220;Renewable energy has reached a tipping point—it now constitutes the best chance to reverse global warming. Solar and wind have just become very competitive, and costs continue to fall. It is not only a commercially viable option, but an outright compelling investment opportunity with long-term, stable, inflation-protected returns.”</blockquote>
The US Energy Information Administration<a href="http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=25492" target="_blank"> estimated</a> that roughly 9.5 gigawatts of solar capacity was added to the country&#8217;s grid, making it the year&#8217;s top energy source. More and more households and companies are also going solar, adding 1.7 gigawatts of installed capacity.
&#8220;Solar investment has gone from nothing…five years ago to quite a lot,&#8221; said Ethan Zindler, analyst for BNEF in an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-15/world-energy-hits-a-turning-point-solar-that-s-cheaper-than-wind" target="_blank">interview</a> at Bloomberg.
Decreases in price could be attributed to a large number of factors, like falling installation and equipment costs, new business ideas, and a rise in cleaner energy policies. A noticeable upshot in investment for solar energy undoubtedly helped, with China putting in a whopping <a href="http://www.publicfinanceinternational.org/news/2016/03/china-worlds-largest-investor-renewable-energy" target="_blank">$103 billion</a>—more than that of the US, the UK, and Japan combined. Though it&#8217;s still not up to the agreed $1 trillion at the Paris accords, we may well be on our way.
&nbsp;
<figure style="width: 768px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/12/ea054c53928b4f9136a39830a776f64d0213c86e.jpg" alt="Jack Guez, AFP/File" width="768" height="380" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Jack Guez, AFP/File</figcaption></figure>
<h2>A Brighter Tomorrow</h2>
Incredible milestones have been set this year, particularly in developing countries. Energy company SolarPack <a style="background-color: white" href="https://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/18/new-low-solar-price-record-set-chile-2-91%C2%A2-per-kwh/" target="_blank">closed a deal</a> to offer solar power in Chile for just $29.1 per megawatt-hour, which is about 60% cheaper than using a new natural gas plant.
BNEF chairman Michael Liebrich <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-15/world-energy-hits-a-turning-point-solar-that-s-cheaper-than-wind">believes</a> in the future of greener energy sources. &#8220;Renewables are robustly entering the era of undercutting [fossil fuels].&#8221;
Of course, the use of dirty energy will not stop just because other forms are cheaper in some parts of the world, but the promise here lies in the gradual impact that reports like those the WEF and the BNEF make: that humanity is not doomed to use fossil fuels, and that cleaner, alternative energy sources are actually viable.
In the next decade or so, the price of solar energy is expected to fall to about half of what it costs to generate electricity from coal. And all these estimations reck nothing of the possibilities of futuristic energy sources that are still in research and development, and are yet far over the horizon. Nuclear fusion, for instance, would certainly change the rules of the game, though it is proving to be rather more difficult of attainment than previously thought; other conceivable power technology, such as space-based solar energy, are equally remote, though promising.
So this exciting new research, combined with more energy-efficient tech and dedicated government policies, will perhaps shift our path from a future of pollution and depleted resources, to one with fresh air, cleaner surroundings, and the promise of unlimited energy.

Cleaner energy sources are becoming cheaper too.

Solar Power Finally Becomes the Cheapest Source for New Energy

A startup out of the United Kingdom claims that it can deliver a reactor with <a href="https://futurism.com/images/fusion-energy-a-practical-guide-infographic/">fusion power</a> gain within five years, one that will be able to generate electricity within a decade. Moreover, they assert that they can make a power plant capable of producing 100MWe within 15 years.
<a href="http://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/about-us/">Tokamak Energy</a> has released three papers detailing the progress made with their approach to a fusion reactor. The notable claim is that size does not matter.
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A <a href="https://futurism.com/tokamak-reactors/">tokamak</a> (a Russian acronym for toroidal chamber with axial magnetic field) is a fusion device that uses a combination of electromagnets and electric currents to contain plasma, which is used to generate thermonuclear fusion power.
Building has begun on a large fusion reactor by the international fusion project, <a href="https://www.iter.org/">ITER</a>. The reactor is planned to be over 30m high and weigh some 23,000 tonnes. However, the size of the project&#8217;s reactors is a big hindrance to being able to start tests. Tokamak Energy wants to scale down the size of the reactors to achieve fusion in a fraction of ITER&#8217;s projected time-frame of the mid-2020&#8217;s.
In <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0029-5515/55/3/033001/pdf">research</a> conducted by the University of York in partnership with Tokamak Energy discovered that &#8220;fusion gain&#8230; depends mainly on the absolute level of the fusion power and the energy confinement, and only weakly on the device size,&#8221; meaning that their planned reactors, which are 100x smaller, can be just as powerful.
Tokamak Energy <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/compact-spherical-tokamak-would-be-100.html">has already</a> &#8220;demonstrated high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets on a tokamak for the first time.&#8221; These HTS magnets produce high fields that are significantly smaller than the fields in other reactors, allowing for smaller machines. In yet <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6744609">another study</a>, researchers are able to show a cost effective way in which a power plant made of these reactors is possible.
For more information on Tokamak Energy&#8217;s vision and plan, visit their <a href="http://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/">FAQ</a> page.

Three papers released by an English startup, Tokamak Energy, are challenging established science that in the area of fusion reactors, bigger is not always better.

/Fusion Power

Earth & Energy

Scientists Just Got Amazing Results From an Old Fusion Reactor

This Week in Science

This Week in Science: Oct 27 – Nov 2

Hard Science

MIT Is Taking on Fusion Power. Could This Be the Time It Actually Works?

Earth & Energy

The Long Wait for Fusion Power May Be Coming to an End

Earth & Energy

Watch: How Far Away is Fusion Power?

Earth & Energy

Mini Reactors Could Make Affordable Fusion Power a Reality by 2030

Earth & Energy

A “World First” Fusion Reactor Just Created Its First Plasma

Earth & Energy

Solar Power Finally Becomes the Cheapest Source for New Energy

Earth & Energy

Fusion Energy: Compact Tokamak is 100 Times Smaller And Could Run Years Earlier

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