{"id":20442,"date":"2016-01-01T23:30:14","date_gmt":"2016-01-01T18:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yaabot.com\/?p=20442"},"modified":"2024-01-19T19:30:12","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T14:00:12","slug":"nuclear-fusion-persistently-decades-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entropymag.co\/nuclear-fusion-persistently-decades-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear Fusion: Persistently Decades Away"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our ability to harness energy would figure high up on the list of factors helping us dominate the planet as a species. With time, we’ve made expected strides on to more efficient energy utilization. We’re not burning wood anymore – or at least, most of the planet isn’t. Instead, we’re hopelessly dependent on coal and oil. While fossil fuels have overseen global adoption, they have major drawbacks – one being their finite availability, the other being the pollution it causes to air and water. Looking towards the future, the development of sustainable energy sources, such as Nuclear Fusion, holds promise in addressing these challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost halfway into the 20th century, we discovered we could extract energy from within the atomic nuclei. Through the process of Nuclear Fission, wherein energy is released when the nucleus of an atom splits, we are able to generate millions of electron-Volts for every atom – compared to the tens of electron-volts released by burning coal. Similar to its chemical counterpart, the availability of atoms like uranium and thorium that are feasible for nuclear fission is very hard to come by. To add to that, the by-products are radioactive and thus precaution measures should be taken before installing nuclear power plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a stigma attached to using nuclear power – because we’ve dropped bombs employing the principle and destroyed millions of lives. Additionally, humanity has witnessed some disturbing nuclear reactor disasters that have poisoned large areas, rendering them uninhabitable. Despite these significant challenges, it’s crucial to recognize that not all nuclear technologies are the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While nuclear fission has been associated with weapons and accidents, Nuclear Fusion, an alternative approach to harnessing atomic energy, holds the potential to provide a much safer and cleaner energy source. As we explore advancements in Nuclear Fusion technology, we aim to mitigate the negative connotations associated with nuclear power and pave the way for a more sustainable energy future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there a way to overcome these drawbacks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The universe is full of naturally occurring nuclear reactors. But these reactors operate in a different way. Consider our closest star, the Sun. By combining light elements that are abundant in nature into heavier elements, we can release more energy through Nuclear Fusion<\/em> than Nuclear Fission<\/em>. In the Sun, two hydrogen atoms combine to form a helium atom, and simultaneously a staggering amount of energy is born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary reason this could be the future of energy generation is because of the large availability of hydrogen on Earth. The hydrogen present in sea water can be used as the source for the reaction to take place. Not only the availability of hydrogen but the absence of radioactive elements and adverse environmental effects, this is the closest we can get towards clean energy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wendelstein 7-X<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The last of the five field-period modules of the\u00a0stellarator<\/a>\u00a0experiment\u00a0Wendelstein 7-X<\/a>\u00a0was installed at the end of 2011 – Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Research on nuclear fusion began\u00a0nearly half a century ago and major breakthroughs have been\u00a0achieved since.But all this is easier said than done. We haven’t been able to feasibly replicate the process on earth. There’s concern about our inability to safely contain the reaction, and there’s been the bigger problem of our inability to produce the right conditions for nuclear fusion to occur in the first place. Most of our attempts end up consuming more energy than the reaction produces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest breakthrough in nuclear fusion is the Wendelstein 7-X<\/em> (W7-X). The W7-X is a 16-metre-wide nuclear fusion machine – it is a type of a stellarator<\/strong>, a device used to confine plasma which can heat up to a 100-million-degree Celsius. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics released an image of the machine\u2019s first plasma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to building the W7-X, many doughnut-shaped nuclear fusion reactors were built. But they could maintain the plasma for a maximum of 6 minutes and 30 seconds at a time. The breakeven energy point could not be achieved at such a short span of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n