Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the ITER Organization publication(s) that you have requested. ITER Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from ITER Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • ITER Design Handbook | Preserving the vital legacy of ITER

    The contributions that ITER is making to fusion physics and engineering—through decades of decisions and implementation—are delivering insights to the fusion co [...]

    Read more

  • Electron cyclotron heating | Aligning technology and physics

    ITER, like other fusion devices, will rely on a mix of external heating technologies to bring the plasma to the temperature necessary for fusion. At a five-day [...]

    Read more

  • Poloidal field magnets | The last ring

    As the massive ring-shaped coil inched its way from the Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility, where it was manufactured, to the storage facility nearby where i [...]

    Read more

  • Heat rejection | White "smoke" brings good news

    Like a plume of white smoke rising from a cardinals' conclave to announce the election of a new pope, the tenuous vapour coming from one of the ITER cooling cel [...]

    Read more

  • WEC 2024 | Energy on centre stage

    The global players in the energy sector convened in Rotterdam last week for the 26th edition of the World Energy Congress (WEC). The venue was well chosen, wit [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Outreach

Making fusion fun

Bringing ITER out into the community was the job of 14 volunteers in October, as the ITER Organization participated two weekends in a row in France's annual Festival of Science (Fête de la Science).

Balloons expand as the particles surrounding them are pumped out of the glass chamber to create a vacuum, making an ''invisible'' phenomenon visible to the young visitors at the ITER stand. A staple at ITER public events, this science experiment never fails to attract children. (Click to view larger version...)
Balloons expand as the particles surrounding them are pumped out of the glass chamber to create a vacuum, making an ''invisible'' phenomenon visible to the young visitors at the ITER stand. A staple at ITER public events, this science experiment never fails to attract children.
Kneeling at a table at children's height for hours on end is not for everyone, but for ITER's group of seasoned Fête de la Science volunteers it's just part of the job. Every October, in municipalities all around France, science is celebrated in public gardens, city halls, and community spaces—anywhere in fact that can receive thousands of interested members of the public. And scientific organizations of all stripes answer the call, setting up welcoming stands and thinking hard about the best way to share their domain of scientific activity in a way that is both understandable and fun.

For the ITER displays, which were set up in the local communities of Villeneuve-Loubet, Marseille and Manosque, this meant glowing plasma sticks, bags of marshmallows, and magnets for the youngest visitors ... and videos and documentation for the adults. There was also plenty of conversation, as the volunteers shared their specific area of expertise and answered questions about the project, the science and the engineering.

The children came away with a better understanding of scientific phenomena such as vacuum and magnetism, while the adults learned a little bit more about the world-spanning scientific collaboration for fusion that is just a few kilometres from their front doors.

 

return to the latest published articles