Nuclear Fusion

We will demonstrate many of the physical science aspects of nuclear fusion, including: electricity, magnetism, differential pressure, and low temperature fluids. The presentation will serve to bridge the gap between what the audience already knows and how scientists use that knowledge to operate the nation's largest fusion tokamak.

Physics related demonstrations including: differential pressure ball launcher, electromagnetic can launcher, liquid nitrogen demos, electrical power generation using human power, plasma (ionized gas) and spectroscopy, levitating electromagnets. Also, discussions using nuclear fusion in a future electrical power generating plant.

The Navy’s booth at the San Diego STEM Festival will serve as a high-visibility, interactive space designed to engage K–12 students, educators, and parents through hands-on STEM experiences and direct conversations with Navy personnel. The footprint will showcase how STEM skills translate into real-world Navy missions across engineering, technology, aviation, cyber, and medical fields.

Now’s your chance to sail on an aircraft carrier — the Strike Group is in your area! Play our new virtual reality game All Hands, learn about Navy missions around the world and chat with real Sailors. See you at San Diego Science and Engineering Festival 2025!

We will demonstrate the fundamental physics needed to perform nuclear fusion research. Concepts in fusion, pressure, states of matter, and electricity & magnetism will be explored. Demonstrations include bed-of-nails, gaseous plasma, electromagnets, a differential pressure cannon, liquid nitrogen, electricity generation, and an electromagnetic can launcher.

Sailors in the United States Navy will be present to share information regarding various STEM career opportunities and education benefits.

The electromagnetic spectrum will be the star of the show as we use demonstrations to illustrate characteristics of light waves such as wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. We will present the ways we use light to understand what's going on inside the 150 M K plasmas we produce in our study of nuclear fusion.