Fusion differs from fission, the technology currently used in nuclear power plants, by fusing two atomic nuclei instead of splitting one. The goal of the JT-60SA reactor is to investigate the feasibility of fusion as a safe, large-scale and carbon-free source of net energy - with more energy generated than is put into producing it.
The six-storey high machine an a hangar in Naka, north of Tokyo, comprises a donut-shaped "tokomak" vessel set to contain swirling plasma heated up 200 million degrees Celsius. It is a joint project between the European Union and Japan and is the forerunner for its big brother in France, the under construction International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
The ultimate aim of both projects is to coax hydrogen nuclei inside to fuse into one heavier element - Helium - releasing energy in the form of light and heat and mimicking the process that takes place inside the Sun. Researchers at ITER, which is over budget, behind schedule and facing major technical problems, hope to achieve nuclear fusion technology's holy grail, net energy.
Salient points
* The feat of "net energy gain" was managed last December at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore national Laboratory in the US. The US facility uses a different method to ITER and the JT-60SA known as inertial confinement fusion, in which high-energy lasers are directed simultaneously into a thimble-sized cylinder with hydrogen.
* In the quest for a source of unlimited, clean power and an end to reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels that cause climate change as well as geopolitical upheaval.
* Unlike fission, fusion carries no risk of catastrophic nuclear accidents and produces far less radioactive waste than current power plants.
Courtesy. The NIE
Fusion has the potential to become a key component for energy mix in the second half of this century.
Tailpiece.
Got up at a half past 6, the chores and was ready by 10.
A quiet Saturday.
Finished up pending work.
No comments:
Post a Comment