Tokamak Energy has released new footage showing what it looks like to ‘capture a star’ on Earth, using a high-speed colour camera to film one of its fusion plasma experiments at an incredible 16,000 frames per second.
The video, taken inside the company’s spherical tokamak ST40 in Oxford, shows glowing plasma — the same state of matter that powers the Sun — with visible light emanating from its outer edge.
The plasma core, however, is far too hot to be seen, reaching temperatures hotter than the Sun itself.
In the footage, lithium is dropped into the plasma, glowing red when energised and turning green as it becomes ionised, losing an electron.
It then follows the tokamak’s magnetic field lines, mapping the path of the plasma around the centre column. The experiment is part of Tokamak Energy’s upgrade programme, carried out in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
The initiative focuses on applying lithium coatings to all plasma-facing components using a lithium evaporation technique.
This approach, proven in pioneering research at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and other facilities, has shown lithium can significantly improve plasma performance and durability.
Stuart White, Tokamak Energy spokesperson, said: “These new images are a striking look into the future, while providing invaluable data for our team today as we partner with governments and businesses to deliver clean, limitless and secure energy through fusion.”
Fusion research like this could transform global energy by providing a near-limitless, carbon-free source of power. By heating hydrogen isotopes to extreme temperatures and containing them in a magnetic field, fusion creates helium and releases vast amounts of clean energy.
Laura Zhang, Tokamak Energy physicist, added: “The coloured camera is especially helpful for experiments like these. It helps us immediately identify whether the gaseous impurities we’re introducing are radiating at the expected place, and whether lithium powders are penetrating to the plasma core.”
Tokamak Energy captures a ‘star on Earth’ appeared first on Energy Live News.