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Tokamak Energy Shows High-Speed Footage of Star-Like Plasma in ST40 Tokamak

The new color imaging provides immediate diagnostic insight into how lithium and other impurities behave inside the Oxford device.

Overview

  • Fresh footage captures pink plasma confined in the ST40 spherical tokamak, with injected lithium shifting from red to green as it traces magnetic field lines.
  • The high-speed color camera records at 16,000 frames per second, helping researchers locate impurity radiation and check whether lithium reaches the plasma core, according to Tokamak physicist Laura Zhang.
  • Tokamak Energy reports sustaining plasma at tens of millions of degrees under magnetic confinement, demonstrating conditions relevant to fusion experiments.
  • The Oxford facility is in a multi-million upgrade focused on lithium experiments in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with amounts reported as $52 million or £42 million.
  • Company statements frame the results as experimental progress and improved diagnostics rather than evidence of net-energy gain or a commercial fusion system.