Wendelstein 7-X: Gigajoule energy turnover generated for eight minutes

Post by dekhn » Fri, Aug 11, 2023, 9:01 PM UTC

themagician wrote: post #63

KyleBerezin wrote: post #3

Ahh, Wendelstein is that stellerator reactor. The stellerator is really cool, and an alternative to a tokamak reactor. Tokamak is the doughnut shaped reactor, and it has a problem where the plasma near the outer circumference has less magnetic confinement. The stellerator is similar, but confines the plasma to a ribbon and folds it over on itself in a mobius-like arrangement. I used to be really interested in this, b…

I find the geometry of things like this fascinating. We typically think in such simple shapes. I feel like my brain can do triangle, rectangle and maybe hexagons and that's about it. I remember when I finally understood radians enough to really understand circles and waveforms—I felt so enlightened. Like I actually remember the moment when it clicked. For years I was just "doing the work" without actually understandi…

Post by p1mrx » Fri, Aug 11, 2023, 9:06 PM UTC

eternityforest wrote: post #76

themagician wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find the geometry of things like this fascinating. We typically think in such simple shapes. I feel like my brain can do triangle, rectangle and maybe hexagons and that's about it. I remember when I finally understood radians enough to really understand circles and waveforms—I felt so enlightened. Like I actually remember the moment when it clicked. For years I was just "doing the work" without actually understandi…

Doing CAD design is really interesting. A lot of stuff is just 2.5D, extrusions of 2D sketches sitting on other 2D sketches. Then you accidentally make something truly 3D by intersecting things and realize you have no idea what you're looking at, couldn't imagine it if you closed your eyes, couldn't replicate it if you had a picture of the result and didn't know the 2D inputs that made it... and then you realize ther…

Post by dekhn » Fri, Aug 11, 2023, 9:09 PM UTC

dale_glass wrote: post #64

tboughen wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favourite fact about it comes from https://phys.org/news/2016-02-plasma-physicist-discusses-wen... “…the supporting structure can only withstand the forces if the interfaces between the ten individual segments of the central rings, which weighs several tonnes, are built with a level of precision of less than 100 millionths of a metre…” - and they found a small family business in the north of Italy capable of doing…

Odd units. 1 meter = 100 cm = 1000mm. So 1 millionth of a meter = 1/1000th of 1mm. thus, 100 millionths of a meter = 0.1mm, or ~4 thou in American units. Easily achievable by hobbyists, let alone by serious, professional equipment. Sure, that is a pretty exacting specification for what I suppose is a big machine, but I'm pretty sure very normal things like say, car engines get made to far tighter tolerances.

Post by waterheater » Fri, Aug 11, 2023, 9:09 PM UTC

tw061023 wrote: post #77

KyleBerezin wrote: post #3

Ahh, Wendelstein is that stellerator reactor. The stellerator is really cool, and an alternative to a tokamak reactor. Tokamak is the doughnut shaped reactor, and it has a problem where the plasma near the outer circumference has less magnetic confinement. The stellerator is similar, but confines the plasma to a ribbon and folds it over on itself in a mobius-like arrangement. I used to be really interested in this, b…

What's interesting is that stellarator actually is not just an alternative, but a wholly parallel branch of evolution - it's not like one was invented strictly after another, and the authors of both designs never knew about the other's work before they completed theirs. What's even more interesting is that the fusor - the simplest possible design for a thermonuclear reactor, so simple that anyone skilled in electrica…

Post by pfdietz » Fri, Aug 11, 2023, 9:12 PM UTC