The most common design for a fusion reactor is known as a tokamak, which heats a cloud of ionized gas, known as plasma, until the atoms fuse together and generate huge amounts of energy in the process.
The new design follows similar principles but is tall and narrow, more like a cored apple, according to an article published by Science Magazine.
This reduction in distance makes it possible to use smaller, less expensive magnets to contain the plasma and makes the entire design more compact.
Whether or not this reactor ever sees the light of day remains to be seen. But it is encouraging to see that government and private investors are investing significant sums to push the technology forward.
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