Ref. news @ nature.com (22 May 2006)By introducing a little static into the magnetic fields that contain the hot, electrically charged atoms of a fusion reaction, researchers have shown that they can prevent the lightning-like discharges that can damage the reactor. The results, which appear online in Nature Physics1, could help the US$5.5 billion International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) achieve its goal of generating net energy from fusion.
It says they can't quite explain it with numbers yet, but it works pretty well. This induced static produces small disturbances in the magnetic field, that lets plasma leak out relieving pressure out of the system, preventing violent bursts.
And they're including it in ITER's (ITER: http://www.iter.org/) design. I wonder if it's worth the chance of including chaotic variables in such an expensive project... if we can't fully understand it yet.![]()
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