Finding provides insights into design for heat-resistant fusion chamber.
Key takeaways:
- Researchers used SLAC’s electron camera to watch copper atoms melt in real time.
- The team uncovered a key parameter that allowed the copper’s crystal lattice to deteriorate slowly instead of collapsing as predicted.
- By combining imaging with molecular dynamics simulations, researchers hope to uncover promising materials for fusion energy.
Future fusion power plants aim to recreate the heart of a star here on Earth to power our future energy needs. While the core fusion plasma will burn at hundreds of millions of degrees, the surrounding structural components must handle sudden, punishing heat loads that rival the extreme temperatures faced by spacecraft upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Copper and its alloys are primary candidates for handling these intense heat fluctuations, making it vital to understand exactly how the metal behaves when pushed to its melting point.
Now researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and collaborators have captured an exquisitely detailed, step-by-step look at copper atoms as they underwent extreme thermal heating. Published in Nature Communications, the results revealed a key parameter that allowed copper’s crystal lattice to melt steadily, rather than collapse instantaneously as earlier simulations predicted.
Read more on the SLAC website