At what point, during the fusion process, do the helium nuclei stop adding to plasma heating and become an impurity to be removed?
About 20% of the net energy gained from the fusion reaction is carried by the Helium ion – the remaining 80% is carried by the neutron which, in a powerplant, will leave the confining magnetic field, penetrate and heat a surrounding blanket, heating water to make steam and drive a turbine. The net energy gained by the Helium ions will remain within the plasma and, through collisions with the Deuterium and Tritium fuel ions, will be transferred to these fuel ions, maintaining the high temperature required for the reaction to occur. This effect has been observed and verified on JET (the only existing device to observe fusion power being produced from a magnetically confined plasma). When the Helium ions have slowed down (through these collisions) and no longer can heat the plasma, they essentially become an impurity to be removed – in fusion research this Helium is known as Helium ash. The removal of this Helium has been one of the major challenges facing the realisation of fusion energy
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