Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik
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10:31 · 497K views · Nov 20, 2013
A CAD-based animation from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics showing how the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator is configured and what its fusion research aims to achieve. It runs about 11 minutes.
HN links it in stellarator and fusion threads as an understandable look at the design and engineering challenges.
8 comments from Hacker News
How the hell do you test such a monstrosity? I mean... I know that testing complex software projects is a pain in the ass. But... this? I mean... how do you even begin to plan where all the wires and other elements go and then test that it's a sound design? I'm guessing they do a lot of simulations and such, but what if something fails? how much do you have to backtrack to fix a potential bug? It just boggles the mind. I had no idea these things were so complex. Thanks for the links. Edit: This video explains the elements quite in an understandable way [0] [0] this video
Actually there are potentially some large breakthroughs in fusion power depending on how the new Wendelstein 7-X does when it is turned on later this year. Stellarators are pretty cool and if they prove viable could lead to a big shift in the field away from tokamaks which have stalled in efficacy improvements. Here is an article about it: [LINK] And here is a great video showing the design in amazing detail: this video
Here is a time lapse video of the 9 year construction, quite fascinating to watch: [LINK] YouTube mirror: [LINK] A more technical video explaining how it works: this video
The engineering challenges and their solutions are described in detail in this video: "Wendelstein 7-X - from concept to reality" (10m30s) this video
Look for videos about the reactor on YouTube. Like this one. this video Also search HN for previous articles.