India's Private Pragya Tokamak Opens A New Fusion Frontier

Fusion is a way of joining tiny parts of atoms to release energy, similar to what happens in the Sun.

A tokamak is a doughnut-shaped machine that uses magnets to hold extremely hot plasma in place.

Pranos Fusion has built a smaller tokamak called Pragya.

Pragya will not produce electricity for homes or businesses.

Instead, scientists will use it to test magnets, sensors and ways to control the plasma.

The company hopes to run thousands of experiments each year for nearly 20 years.

Fusion could eventually provide a powerful source of energy with low operating carbon emissions.

However, scientists still need to solve difficult problems involving heat, neutron damage, fuel and reliable operation.