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"All About ITER," ITER's first podcast miniseries, is now available through World Radio Paris, the only 24/7 English-speaking national radio channel in France. If you haven't heard about it already, "All About ITER" is a miniseries with six episodes that dive deep into what makes ITER tick: from the science behind fusion, to the manufacturing taking place all over the world, to the people behind the project.

You can listen to "All About ITER" live on World Radio Paris (WRP) between the weeks of 7 March and 16 May (schedule below), on the WRP website, or by downloading the WRP app.

And if you're not in France, the ITER podcast "All About ITER" is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Tune In, PodBean and the ITER website.

Schedule: World Radio Paris
Mondays, 2 p.m.
Tuesdays, 11 a.m.
Fridays, 7 p.m.
Episode 1: Week of 7 March
Episode 2: Week of 21 March
Episode 3: Week of 4 April
Episode 4: Week of 18 April
Episode 5: Week of 2 May
Episode 6: Week of 16 May

A theoretical physicist, but one who views theory as something "to be put to use," Alain Bécoulet can speak (and write) about fusion in terms that are both simple and inspiring. In his recently published Star Power: ITER and the International Quest for Fusion Energy (MIT Press), he offers a concise and accessible overview of fusion energy promises and challenges, not only explaining the underlying science and technology but also describing the massive international effort to harness this potential new energy source.

Having embraced plasma physics in the mid-1980s as a student at France's prestigious École Normale Supérieure, Bécoulet draws from his long experience in fusion research, first at France's Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research (IRFM), and since February 2020 as head of the ITER Engineering Domain, to explain how the long-pursued dream of harnessing the energy of the Sun and stars is on the verge of becoming reality.

Find out more here.

In this ITER Talk, the seventh in the series, ITER scientific expert Joseph Snipes walks us through plans for ITER operation. What does the "Q" in ITER's goal of Q=10 stand for? How will the machine and its systems be prepped for operation? What are the different steps between First Plasma and full fusion power operation?

The ITER Research Plan will proceed in four stages—a careful step-by-step strategy designed to achieve high plasma performance operation up to a plasma current of 15 MA, with key milestones along the way. Learn about the staggered assembly of key systems, the specific goals of each operation phase, the means to achieve the goals, and the importance of robust plasma control. By the end of the talk, you'll know (a lot) more about the unique capabilities of the ITER experimental device.

A note to viewers: This ITER Talk goes hand in hand with ITER Talk (6)—"Tokamak Physics for Nuclear Fusion" by the head of the ITER Science Division Alberto Loarte (viewable here).

Watch the seventh episode of ITER Talks here.

See the full ITER Talks playlist on YouTube here.

Alberto Loarte, head of the Science Division at the ITER Organization, introduces us to the physics of ITER plasmas and explains how the physics justifies the design of the machine. He reviews the deuterium-tritium nuclear fusion process, the role of magnetic fields in fusion, the specificities of the tokamak configuration, energy and particle confinement, heating and fuelling, and finally fusion power, particle exhaust and plasma-wall interactions. And he does it all in a clear and understandable way!

A note to viewers: This ITER Talk goes hand in hand with ITER Talk (7)—"The ITER Research Plan: How to Reach Q=10" by ITER scientific expert Joseph Snipes (viewable on the ITER YouTube channel here.

Watch the sixth episode of ITER Talks here.

See the full ITER Talks playlist on YouTube here.

There are presently two approaches to realizing hydrogen fusion. One, implemented in tokamaks and stellarators, consists in heating a very tenuous plasma to temperatures in the 100 million degrees Celsius range and to confine it in a magnetic cage—this is magnetic fusion. Another, called inertial fusion, is implemented in installations such as the American National Ignition Facility (NIF) or the French Laser Mégajoule. In inertial fusion an array of hundreds of powerful lasers, precisely focused, is used to compress to extreme density (and hence very high temperature) tiny hydrogen-filled capsules inside which fusion reactions can occur.

Now, a third approach is being considered and experimented at NASA's Glenn Research Center, in Cleveland, Ohio. Called "lattice confinement fusion," it could one day provide enough power to operate small space probes or rovers for planetary exploration.

In lattice confinement fusion (LCF), a beam of gamma rays is directed at a sample of erbium or titanium saturated with deuterium nuclei (deuteron). Occasionally, gamma rays of sufficient energy will break apart a deuteron in the metal lattice into its constituent proton and neutron. The energetic neutron has a chance of colliding with another deuteron in the lattice, imparting it with some of its energy. And sometimes that energy is enough for deuterons to fuse into a helium-3 nucleus (helion) and give off useful energy. A leftover neutron could provide the push for another energetic deuteron elsewhere in the lattice.

"Our work represents just the first step toward realizing that goal," say the scientists involved in this endeavour. "If the reaction rates can be significantly boosted, LCF may open an entirely new door for generating clean nuclear energy, both for space missions and for the many people who could use it here on Earth."

 Read more about lattice confinement fusion on the IEEE Spectrum here.

During the operation of a fusion machine, it is important to know the surface composition of the plasma-facing components, which can evolve over time (erosion, oxidation...) and modify plasma interaction conditions.

The team at the WEST tokamak in France is testing a new kind of diagnostic, called the fibered LIBS (for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy), to characterize internal surfaces of WEST and later ITER. 

In LIBS, a high-intensity pulsed laser beam is focused on the surface to be analyzed. The laser/matter interaction leads to the ablation of the material and the creation of a plasma plume. The spectral analysis of the plasma emission gives access to the elemental composition of the ablated material and thus the composition of the material under study.

Installed on an inspection robot equipped with an articulated arm, the LIBS tool consists of an optical fibre carrying the incident laser light and the light emitted during the interaction of the laser beam with the material under study. The diagnostic can not only characterize all internal surfaces of the machine and follow their evolution, but also (in ITER) monitor tritium concentration in the first wall and detect eventual helium bubbles in plasma-facing components coming from the interaction of fusion neutrons with the materials.

The first tests were carried out in December 2021. Read the original article in English or in French.