Germany's recent advancements in nuclear fusion involve heating plasma to temperatures exceeding 10^8 degrees Celsius using various methods. The process begins with evacuating air and impurities from the vacuum chamber, followed by charging the magnet systems to confine the plasma. Key heating techniques include ohmic heating, neutral beam heating, ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH), and electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH). Notably, the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator utilizes ECRH to achieve the necessary temperatures for fusion.
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To start the process, air and impurities are first evacuated from the vacuum chamber. Next, the magnet systems that will help to confine and control the plasma are charged up and the gaseous fuel is introduced. As a powerful electrical current is run through the vessel, the gas breaks down electrically, becomes ionized (electrons are stripped from the nuclei) and forms a plasma.
As the plasma particles become energized and collide they also begin to heat up. Auxiliary heating methods help to bring the plasma to fusion temperatures (between 150 and 300 million °C). Particles "energized" to such a degree can overcome their natural electromagnetic repulsion on collision to fuse, releasing huge amounts of energy.