FuZe is a low-cost and compact device that can reach fusion energy temperatures rapidly and cater to our energy needs sooner.A small-scale and compact device built by US-based fusion startup Zap Energy has achieved plasma electron temperatures of 1-3 keV, roughly equivalent to 20 to 66 million degrees Fahrenheit .
This fusion of the atoms gives out 10 million times more energy per ounce than burning the same amount of coal. However, since the fusion plasma consists of two components that vary significantly in their masses, they heat and cool at different rates.The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy funded the prior work in this space at the University of Washington.
In this approach, large electric currents are channeled through thin plasma filaments, generating the plasma’s electromagnetic fields that heat it while compressing it. “The dynamics are a wonderful balancing act of plasma physics,” said Ben Levitt, Vice President of R&D at Zap. “As we climb to higher and higher plasma currents, we optimize the sweet spot where the temperature, density and lifetime of the Z pinch align to form a stable, high-performance fusing plasma.”Researchers can now measure the temperature of the nuclei and electrons in plasma’s hot sub-atomic soup separately.