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Visualization of how a stellarator’s plasma (orange) can be manipulated using a combination of permanent magnets (red and blue) and superconducting coils (grey rings).Credit: C. Zhu/PPPL
Researchers have proposed a simplified design for nuclear-fusion reactors, based on powerful permanent magnets. The prototype reactors normally require sophisticated superconducting coils to confine plasma in a way that might one day offer enormous amounts of energy. While helping his son with a science-fair project (he wanted to build a rail gun), plasma physicist Michael Zarnstorff realized that neodymium–boron magnets are now powerful enough to be used instead of superconducting coils.
Reference: Physical Review Letters paper
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