--- title: "Amazing Video Shows Inside Fusion Reactor During Record Breaking Test" description: "Bouncing Plasma Scientists were excited to announce a major breakthrough in fusion energy research today. The UK-based Joint European Torus (JET) lab smashed its own 25-year-old record, producing 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds, roughly the equivalent of 30 pounds of TNT. And thanks to a camera mounted inside the reactor, we get to […]" date: "2022-02-09" modified: "2022-02-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-fusion-reactor-record-test" categories: - "Energy" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "fusion" - "fusion energy" - "the digest" --- # Amazing Video Shows Inside Fusion Reactor During Record Breaking Test ![A camera mounted inside the JET fusion reactor recorded an amazing video of glowing plasma swirling during this week's record experiment. ]() *\Image: UKAEAofficial via Twitter\* ## Plasmagorical Scientists were excited to [announce a major breakthrough]() in fusion energy research today. The UK-based Joint European Torus (JET) lab smashed its own 25-year-old record, producing 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds, roughly the equivalent of 30 pounds of TNT. And thanks to a camera mounted inside the reactor, now we get to watch an incredible display of glowing plasma whipping around the interior of the donut-shaped chamber. https://twitter.com/UKAEAofficial/status/1491381459181248515 ## Hot in Herre Conditions inside the reactor are extreme to say the least, with temperatures reaching in excess of 100 million degrees Celsius, ten times the core of the Sun. The plasma glow is created by isotopes of deuterium and tritium fusing together to form helium, essentially the same process that powers stars like our Sun. The goal of achieving fusion — a virtually limitless supply of truly green and safe energy — is likely still many years out. The reaction may have lasted for a record five seconds, but the amount of energy needed to get the reaction going still far exceeds the amount that was gained. But that doesn't mean this week's breakthrough wasn't a major step towards that goal. "It is really, really impressive," fusion physicist Josefine Proll at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, who was not involved in the latest demo, [told *Nature*](), adding that five seconds is a "big deal." **READ MORE:** [Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy]() \[*The BBC*\] **More on the record:** *[Fusion Scientists Say They Just Made a Major Breakthrough]()* ## 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]()