Skip to main content
Tungsten tiles for fusion

Using additive manufacturing, scientists experimenting with tungsten at Oak Ridge National Laboratory hope to unlock new potential of the high-performance heat-transferring material used to protect components from the plasma inside a fusion reactor. Fusion requires hydrogen isotopes to reach millions of degrees.

An ORNL-developed graphite foam, which could be used in plasma-facing components in fusion reactors, performed well during testing at the Wendlestein 7-X stellarator in Germany.

Scientists have tested a novel heat-shielding graphite foam, originally created at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X stellarator with promising results for use in plasma-facing components of fusion reactors.

Whistler_waves_ORNL
When whistler waves are present in a fusion plasma, runaway electrons pay attention. A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the first to directly observe the elusive waves inside a highly energized magnetic field as electrons zoom ar...
Pellet selector

When it’s up and running, the ITER fusion reactor will be very big and very hot, with more than 800 cubic meters of hydrogen plasma reaching 170 million degrees centigrade. The systems that fuel and control it, on the other hand, will be small and very cold. Pellets of frozen gas will be shot int...

Default image of ORNL entry sign
Robert Wagner of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been chosen to receive the 2014 International Leadership Citation from the Society of Automotive Engineers.
ORNL Image
By controlling the temperature of silica rods as they grow, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could be setting the stage for advances in anti-reflective solar cells, computer monitors, TV screens, eye glasses and more.
Default image of ORNL entry sign
Bruce Pint, a research staff member at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a 2014 National Association of Corrosion Engineers fellow.