ITER, Nuclear fusion research facility in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France.
ITER is an international research project in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France, working on the development of nuclear fusion energy. The facility covers roughly 180 hectares and includes 39 scientific buildings, with the central structure standing 60 meters tall and housing the experimental fusion reactor.
Construction began in 2006 after 35 nations signed an agreement to jointly pursue fusion research. The project evolved into one of the largest scientific undertakings of the modern era, with the first test phase planned for the mid-2020s.
The facility brings together researchers from around the world working side by side on fusion energy development. During tours, visitors witness this international collaboration firsthand as they walk through laboratories and control rooms where people of different backgrounds work daily toward a shared global goal.
Tours can be arranged in advance through the official website and offer insight into the ongoing research work. Visitors should plan their own transportation, as the site sits away from larger towns in a rural setting and the nearest train station is several kilometers away.
The reactor will generate temperatures reaching 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times hotter than the core of the sun, to achieve controlled fusion. The superconducting magnets used are among the most powerful ever built and can produce a magnetic field 280,000 times stronger than Earth's.
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