Scientists at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) claim they have taken a significant step toward making fusion energy possible by applying a 3D magnetic field to counteract instabilities in a spherical tokamak plasma for the first time.

Working on the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade experiment at Culham in Oxfordshire, the UKAEA researchers used magnetic coils to apply the 3D magnetic field and stabilize the plasma.

In a fusion reaction, energy is produced by forcing light atomic nuclei, such as hydrogen, to fuse together to form heavier particles. Some of their mass is lost in the process, converted into a large amount of energy.

To achieve this, the fuel needs to be confined at very high temperature within the tokamak to create a plasma, and this is difficult to control.

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