France is all set to get the world's most powerful magnet for a fusion reactor that aims to replicate the process that powers the Sun. The magnet, known as the central solenoid, will make up the heart of the world's largest fusion reactor, ITER, which means 'the way' in Latin. It will be a central component of France's energy project.
This international experiment involves 35 countries with a team of over a thousand engineers and scientists and aims to prove the feasibility of sustained nuclear fusion to create energy. In nuclear fusion, smaller atoms are fused to create larger ones, a reaction that releases enormous amounts of energy.
The magnet will be 18 metres tall, 4.2 metres wide, and weigh around 1000 tonnes once fully constructed. With a magnetic field strength of 13 teslas, it will be about 280,000 times stronger than Earth's own magnetic field, making it strong enough to lift an entire aircraft carrier, which weighs around 100,000 tons (90,700 metric tons).
ITER will be the largest fusion reactor yet once it is complete, with 2025 the current end goal. Engineers working on the project aim to make it the first reactor that will provide more energy from fuel than is required to sustain the fusion reaction - the plan is to create 500 megawatts of usable energy from an input of 50 megawatts.
Fusion reactors replicate the reactions seen inside stars, where vast gravitational pressure allows pairs of hydrogen atoms to merge and create helium atoms, releasing energy in the process.
Why is fusion so important?
Sustained nuclear fusion could open the door to unlimited renewable energy, which would slash carbon emissions created by the burning of fossil fuels that contribute to climate change.
