Fusion surprises and COVID scars: News from the College

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From research into how ions behave in fusion reactions, to a study on why some people develop scar tissue in their lungs following severe COVID-19 infection, here is some quick-read news from across the College. Fusion surprises. Ions may behave differently in fusion reactions than previously expected, providing important insights for the future design of a laser-fusion energy source. During laser-fusion experiments, lasers heat a fuel consisting of deuterium and tritium ions - heavier variants of hydrogen - to create plasma in which fusion reactions occur. The energy produced by the reactions heats the fuel resulting in higher temperatures and in turn creates more reactions, resulting in a runaway process (thermonuclear burn). To further explore these reactions, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory measured the temperature of deuterium and tritium ions in a burning plasma by analysing the distribution of neutrons that are created during fusion reactions.