fusion reactor
10
6.6
- noun
- /ˈfjuːʒən riˈæktər/
- Specialized
:
reactor de fusión
- So that's my fusion reactor in the background there.
- nuclear fusion reactor
The sun is a giant plasma fusion reactor.
- The sun is a giant plasma fusion reactor.
- All of those stars are actually many fusion reactors.
- They're trying to get a fusion reactor to work so it could create an infinite source of energy.
- And so the waste product of a fusion reactor is helium, not nuclear waste that we find in a commercial fission plant.
- The next step beyond that would be fusion plants, fusion reactors and antimatter reactors.
- In fact, we now know that those metals will accrue quite a lot of damage in a perspective fusion reactor, and quite quickly.
- So if I can try to summarize what a nuclear fusion reactor is supposed to do.
- If you remove that, you can put that into a nuclear fusion reactor.
Examples
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Earth's source of solar radiation—the nuclear fusion reactor 151 million kilometers from us—provides a bountiful, inexhaustible source of energy.
Academic text (1993) -
Scientists are optimistic that the new fusion reactor will provide clean energy for millions.
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This whole station is basically a big fusion reactor.
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We're only testing the fusion reactor.
Fiction book (2001) -
So now we have an incomplete fusion reactor in my workshop.
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No one's ever been able to make a fusion reactor that doesn't take more energy than it gives off.
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They're trying to get a fusion reactor to work so it could create an infinite source of energy.
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And tritium will have a key role in the fusion reactors of the future.
Academic text (2012) -
And so the waste product of a fusion reactor is helium, not nuclear waste that we find in a commercial fission plant.
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That's one of the great unsolved problems in nuclear physics is how to make a fusion reactor that will generate electricity for us.
Synonyms
A machine that makes energy by joining atoms together in a controlled way
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound literally names a reactor that uses fusion: combining 'fusion' (joining light nuclei) with 'reactor' (a device or facility that produces power) yields the meaning 'a reactor producing energy by fusion'. This is a compositional, technical term following straightforward noun+noun formation and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Fusion reactor uses a simple image: fusion is when two small atoms join and give off a lot of energy, and a reactor is a machine that controls that joining. So a fusion reactor is 'a machine that makes energy by joining atoms'.