CFS HTS Magnets Power UW-Madison’s WHAM Fusion Device to Hit First Plasma

Have you ever seen a mirror fusion device create plasma? University of Wisconsin - Madison hit first plasma in their WHAM device last week with the help of our high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets and our CEO Bob Mumgaard was there to see it happen.

How does it work?

Hydrogen atoms are heated to millions of degrees to become plasma, a state of matter where the electrons and nucleus in each atom separate.

The negatively charged electrons and positively charged nuclei in the plasma move along the path of the magnetic field. This keeps the plasma hot by making sure it doesn’t touch the colder walls of the fusion device.

Mirrors are similar to tokamaks (like CFS is building) in some ways (both use magnets), but in mirrors the plasma particles bounce back and forth between the big magnets at the ends of the machine while in tokamaks they go all the way around the circle of the donut.

You can watch the moment WHAM hits first plasma in the video.

#fusion #FusionEnergy #HTSMagnets #EnergyTransition