this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2025
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France has upped the ante in the quest for fusion power by maintaining a plasma reaction for over 22 minutes – a new record. The milestone was reached on February 12 at the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) WEST Tokamak reactor.

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[–] BlackLaZoR@fedia.io -4 points 4 days ago (7 children)

The tricky bit isn't to get atoms to fuse. That's a fairly simple lab bench experiment. The problem is creating the right conditions where the fusion reaction is self-sustaining, with a net energy output. That means reaching temperatures of between 100 – 150 million °C (180 – 270 million °F), a pressure of five to 10 atmospheres at the point of reaction, and keeping a high-energy plasma stable for at least 10 seconds.

Nowhere in the article is said that they actually achieved these temperatures. This is poor journalism at its worst

[–] Kraiden@kbin.earth 24 points 4 days ago (6 children)

The CEA seems to have done considerably better than 10 seconds and gone 25% beyond what China achieved in January 2025 with 1,066 seconds. In the latest test, the WEST Tokamak held its reaction for 1,337 seconds.

It's the very next paragraph... not to mention the very FIRST paragraph...

France has upped the ante in the quest for fusion power by maintaining a plasma reaction for over 22 minutes

What more do you want?

edit: The article talks about a sustained plasma reaction, not a fusion reaction. I agree that this could have been made clearer. Even in quoting it, I missed that

[–] usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I think they're trying to say that this reactor sustained a plasma reaction, but not a fusion one. By describing fusion and then talking about this successful test without outlining the difference, it makes the test seem more successful than it was.

[–] Kraiden@kbin.earth 2 points 4 days ago

Thanks, you're right. I missed that.

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