The idea of nuclear fusion has been inspiring people for decades. At its core, it is about using the physico-chemical processes that take place in the sun in a comparable form on Earth, for example to generate energy in power plants. Large-scale use in nuclear fusion reactors, for example, is still a dream of the future, but thanks to scientific research and development work, our understanding of these processes is growing, and with every new insight gained, the leap towards implementation is getting closer. The Institute for Microwave and Plasma Technology (IMP) at Aachen University of Applied Sciences has now taken another step in this direction. "With our free-standing plasma, we can generate the desired form for fusion processes on a small laboratory scale," says Prof. Dr. Holger Heuermann, Head of the IMP.
