July 17, 2024 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlightedthe following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked trusted source proofread by Anne-Muriel Brouet, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne When it comes to promising forms of energy, nuclear fusion checks all the boxes: it's clean, abundant, continuous and safe. It's produced when the lightweight nuclei of two atoms fuse together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing large amounts of energy in the process.
For fusion reactions to occur in a controlled manner, huge reactors are needed in the form of giant rings, which are filled with magnets to create magnetic fields where atomic particles buzz around and dance like a swarm of bees. Hard to picture? The good news is that you can now view a live simulation of this kind of reactor —called a tokamak—thanks to stunningly realistic 3D visualization technology. At EPFL, the Laboratory for Experimental Museology (EM+) specializes in this technology and has developed a program that turns the terabytes of data generated from the tokamak simulations and testing carried out by EPFL's Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) into an immersive 3D visualization experience.
For the general public, the visualization is a journey into a ring of fireworks illustrating a possible future source of energy; for scientists, it's a valuable tool that renders the complex phenomena of quantum physics tangible .