Energy source of the Sun: Fusion of hydrogen into helium

The Sun consists almost exclusively of hydrogen. It radiates for 4.5 billion years now and will certainly do it for another period of this length.

By merging hydrogen into helium, the Sun transforms four million tons of matter into energy per second.

To generate electrical current by use of nuclear fusion is the primary objective of fusion research.

Along the way chosen today, the working gas that is intended to carry the fusion reaction has to be brought into the plasma state to this end.

Temperatures to be reached in devices assigned to that purpose have to surmount by far those at the Sun.

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