---
title: "Scientists Generated Nuclear Fusion With a Tabletop Device"
description: "A 1.5-meter device called a Z-pinch generated nuclear fusion, but not for long enough to be useful. Still, it shows that small-scale fusion is possible."
date: "2019-04-17"
modified: "2019-04-17"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-nuclear-fusion-device-smaller"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Nuclear Fusion"
  - "Renewable Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "energy"
  - "nuclear fusion"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Generated Nuclear Fusion With a Tabletop Device

![A 1.5-meter device called a Z-pinch generated nuclear fusion, but not for long enough to be useful. Still, it shows that small-scale fusion is possible.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/scientists-nuclear-fusion-device-smaller.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Sandpiper via Wikimedia Commons/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Scaling Down

A team of physicists managed to generate a nuclear fusion reaction using a device that can fit on a tabletop.

The device, called a Z-pinch, operates in a similar way to any other fusion reaction, [according to ](<https://physicsworld.com/a/physicists-spot-the-signatures-of-nuclear-fusion-in-a-table-top-device/>)[*Physics World*](<https://physicsworld.com/a/physicists-spot-the-signatures-of-nuclear-fusion-in-a-table-top-device/>) — but it can do so at a much smaller scale than the [building-sized generators](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-new-way-kickstart-stable-fusion-reactions>) that scientists typically use to explore fusion.

## Trial Run

Scientists from the University of Washington built a 1.5-meter Z-pinch device that was able to sustain a nuclear fusion reaction for five microseconds.

The Z-pinch works by trapping and pressurizing plasma in a powerful magnetic field, *Physics World* reports. In the experiment, the plasma field was stabilized for 16 microseconds, and fusion occurred for about a third of that time.

That's a far cry from solving our energy crisis or even being remotely useful, but the demonstration shows that small-scale fusion is possible, contrary to what scientists expected.

**READ MORE:** [Physicists spot the signatures of nuclear fusion in a table-top device](<https://physicsworld.com/a/physicists-spot-the-signatures-of-nuclear-fusion-in-a-table-top-device/>) \[*Physics World*\]

**More on nuclear fusion:** *[Scientists Found a New Way to Make Fusion Reactors More Efficient](<https://futurism.com/fusion-reactors-efficient>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)