THAT WAS EASY:

Initial results from a UK experiment could help clear a hurdle to achieving commercial power based on nuclear fusion, experts say.

The researchers believe they now have a better way to remove the excess heat produced by fusion reactions.

This intense heat can melt materials used inside a reactor, limiting the amount of time it can operate for.

The system, which has been likened to a car exhaust, resulted in a tenfold reduction in the heat.

The tests were carried out at the Mast (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) Upgrade nuclear fusion experiment at Culham in Oxfordshire. The £55m device began operating in October last year, after a seven-year build.

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