Have you heard of the UW’s Pegasus III Plasma Chamber? Yeah, probably not, though you really should have! It’s a chamber nearly the size of an SUV and is being used to study plasma as a potential power source in the future. Luckily for us, some of our finest Makerspace employees, Clayton Custer and Gaby Setyawan, have been a part of the process.
They may not be a part of the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment Team, though they still play an important part in the research. As you can imagine, a chamber designed to generate high-temperature plasma and then hold it in place with magnetic fields needs an upgrade every once and a while.
However, the complex nature of the device makes upgrading it easier said than done. This is where Clayton and Gaby come in. They’ve been tasked with 3D scanning the entire exterior of the chamber, which they will then use to model structural components to make sure new parts fit properly.
Given the massive size of the chamber, the project has been ongoing for months. In fact, Clayton has plans to fully pass on the project to Gaby if he graduates before its completion! Regardless, the Makerspace is incredibly proud of our employees’ contributions, and is excited to see where this innovative research leads!
