Design of the W7-X fusion device enables it to overcome obstacles, scientists find

A key hurdle facing fusion devices called stellarators — twisty facilities that seek to harness on Earth the fusion reactions that power the sun and stars — has been their limited ability to maintain the heat and performance of the plasma that fuels those reactions. Now collaborative research by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany, have found that the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) facility in Greifswald, the largest and most advanced stellarator ever built, has demonstrated a key step in overcoming this problem. Read Full Article

PPPL partners with local company on developing superconducting magnets for space applications

PPPL has received more than $200,000 to develop superconducting magnet technology that could be used for space propulsion as part of a NASA grant to a company that has licensed technology developed by PPPL physicist Sam Cohen. Read Full Article

Novel PPPL invention could improve the efficiency of car and truck engines while reducing pollutants

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a novel design that could increase the efficiency and reduce toxic emissions from gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines that power millions of cars and trucks around the world. The theoretical design lays out methods for rapidly spinning the gas inside internal combustion cylinders that engines use to propel vehicles. Link to Full Article