How a high-tech blowpipe is heating up nuclear fusion

On May 22, 2025, Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator achieved a world record in nuclear fusion research, sustaining plasma at tens of millions of degrees Celsius for 43 seconds. The breakthrough was made possible by using frozen hydrogen pellets instead of gas, fed through a blowpipe-like injector. Magnetic fields kept the plasma contained inside a twisted doughnut-shaped chamber. Researchers believe longer plasma discharges are possible, marking a major step toward clean energy, though commercial fusion reactors remain decades away.