---
title: "Physicists Discover New Trick to Stabilize Fusion Reactors"
description: "A team of research scientists at Princeton University may have found a new way to control fusion reactions."
date: "2020-05-08"
modified: "2020-05-08"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/physicists-discover-new-trick-to-stabilize-fusion-reactors"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "fusion energy"
  - "fusion reactor"
  - "the digest"
  - "tokamak"
---

# Physicists Discover New Trick to Stabilize Fusion Reactors

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Physicists-Discover-Trick-Stabilize-Fusion-Reactors.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: WallpaperFlare\</em\>*

## Taking Control

A team of research physicists at Princeton University may [have found a new way](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32389687/radio-waves-stabilize-fusion-reactions/>) to control fusion reactions — an incremental step towards making fusion energy, the holy grail of energy production, a reality.

Many fusion reactors today use light elements in the form of plasma as fuel. The problem is that this elemental plasma is extremely hot — practically as hot as the Sun — and extremely unpredictable and difficult to control.

## Magnetic Islands

But there may be a way to force the plasma into doing what we want more predictably and efficiently, as detailed in [a new theoretical paper](<https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0001881>) published in the journal *Physics of Plasmas.*

The Princeton team found that shooting radio frequency waves that super-heat fusion reactions inside a reactor could potentially reduce the chance of "magnetic islands" — bubble-like structures that can throw fusion reactions out of whack by triggering sudden releases of energy.

"We want the islands not to grow," explained Eduardo Rodriguez, a graduate student in the Princeton Program in Plasma Physics and first author of the paper, said in [a statement](<https://phys.org/news/2020-04-scientists-explore-power-radio-fusion.html>). "Focusing on this can lead to improved stabilization of fusion reactors."

**READ MORE:** [Radio Wave Breakthrough Helps Stabilize Fusion Reactions](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32389687/radio-waves-stabilize-fusion-reactions/>) \[*Popular Mechanics*\]

**More on fusion:** *[Fusion Startup Claims Breakthrough Will Provide “Unlimited” Energy](<https://futurism.com/fusion-startup-breakthrough-unlimited-energy>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)