The American startup Zap Energy has announced a significant breakthrough in the development of its Z-Pinch technology. A new study has confirmed that the plasma in the Fuze device shows thermodynamic balance, indicating that it can be scaled up without losing stability.
Scientists conducted experiments to study the isotropy of neutron energy, a key indicator of the quality of thermonuclear fusion. An isotropic distribution, which is uniform in all directions, suggests that the reaction occurs through pure thermal fusion, without side processes like Beam-Target Fusion, where fast hydrogen nuclei interact with motionless particles, causing unstable neutron emissions.
Check Synthesis Stability
The Zap Energy team performed 433 plasma tests under the same conditions, measuring the neutron distribution. The results showed that the emissions were nearly completely isotropic, confirming the stability and scalability of the technology.
Uri Slaglak, the chief scientist at Zap Energy, stated that this result is crucial evidence that the company is progressing in the right direction. “This measurement work is of paramount importance. We have made significant efforts to conduct precise calculations,” Slaglak noted on the company’s blog.
The Z-Pinch method is an old approach to controlled thermonuclear fusion. British scientists from the Zeta project first used it in the 1950s, attempting to contain plasma using magnetic compression. However, at that time, neutron measurements were inaccurate, leading to unstable reactions with Beam-Target neutron emissions, rendering the technology unsuitable for energy production.
Zap Energy claims that its approach addresses the instability issue, as controlled shift flows help maintain the plasma column, allowing the reaction to continue for a longer duration.
Other technologies such as Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) have faced similar challenges, generating numerous neutrons through Beam-Target effects, making them unsuitable for large-scale energy generation.
What’s Next?
After confirming thermonuclear fusion in 2018, the Zap Energy team has improved measurement accuracy and increased energy levels in the reactor. They are now testing Fuze-Q, where neutron isotropy is analyzed at higher capacities.
It is noteworthy that at the end of each plasma discharge, researchers observed a decrease in neutron isotropy, suggesting the development of magnetic instabilities before the reaction. This finding will help fine-tune the system parameters, prolong plasma containment, and enhance reaction efficiency.
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