Magnetic Cage in Artificial Suns

Catching a star in a bottle

Chapter 1

Bottling up a star

Chapter 2

The global league of tokamaks

Chapter 3

Lasers and twists: Alternative paths

Chapter 4

Powering tomorrow's grid

YOUR GOAL

Master of Catching a star in a bottle

Ch 1 · Bottling up a star

007skaty Scientists build nuclear fusion reactors to recreate solar power.

007skaty Tokamak Fusion Reactors

Super-cold magnets hold a burning star in place, keeping it safely off the walls

To achieve what nature does through scale, we must compensate with extreme control.

007skaty Nuclear fusion reactions power the Sun and future energy technology.

Hotter than the real Sun

007skaty The Sun's core fuses atoms at 15 million degrees Celsius using gravity, but Earth's reactors must heat plasma

The fourth state of matter

007skaty A vibrant, hand-drawn anime miniature sun glows with swirling rings of hot plasma.

BETA

007skaty Trap swirling plasma with magnets to discover how scientists build an artificial sun.

Fun Fact

Sun vs Earth: The Sun fuses hydrogen at 15 million degrees, but Earth's reactors must reach 150 million degrees to overcome our lack of massive solar gravity.

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Glossary

tokamak (noun)
A toroidal device that uses a magnetic field to confine extremely hot plasma for nuclear fusion. In December 2020, China first powered up its HL-2M reactor to test magnetic confinement of superheated plasma.

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Gossip

If you could name a new artificial sun, what vibe would you go for?

Quiz

What shape is the magnetic chamber used in a standard tokamak reactor?

007skaty Plasma exists as the volatile fourth state of matter.

Quiz

Why must the plasma in a reactor be kept away from the walls?

007skaty The invisible magnetic cage

Quiz

What is the main, harmless byproduct of hydrogen fusion?

Quiz

What force does the real Sun use to squeeze atoms together?

Quiz

What is the primary fuel source used in most nuclear fusion experiments?

Quiz

Why do artificial suns on Earth need to be hotter than the real Sun?

Quiz

Which process combines light atoms to release energy, rather than splitting heavy ones?

Quiz

What state of matter is the superheated fuel inside an artificial sun?