A viable nuclear fusion reactor – one that consumes more energy than it consumes – could be here as soon as 2025.
It is the culmination of seven new studies, published September 29 Plasma Physics Journal.
If the fusion reactor reaches that milestone, it could pave the way for a large pay generation of clean massive radiation.
Meanwhile Fusion, The atomic nuclei are forced to form a mass together Atom. When the resulting mass of atoms is less than the mass of atoms in their composition, the excessive mass is converted into energy radiation, releasing extraordinary light and Heat. Fusion empowers the sun and stars as powerful Gravity On their heart fuse Hydrogen making Helium.
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But forcing the atoms to fuse together requires enormous energy radiation, which occurs at a temperature of at least 180 million degrees Fahrenheit (100 million degrees Celsius). However, such reactions can produce much more gene than they need. At the same time, fusion does not occur Greenhouse gases Such as carbon dioxide, which drives global warming, Or it does not produce other pollutants. And fuel for fusion – such an element Hydrogen – Plenty enough Earth To meet all the energy needs of humanity for millions of years.
“We’re all really getting into this research because we’re really trying to solve a serious global problem,” said Martin Greenwall, a study author at MIT’s Plasma Physicist and one of the leading scientists developing new reactors. “We want to have an impact on society. We need a compromise for global warming – otherwise, culture gets in trouble. It looks like it could help improve.”
Most experimental fusion reactors call the docket-shaped Russian design Tokmak. This design makes powerful use Magnetic fields To limit plasma cloud or ionized gas, at extreme temperatures, enough for the molecules to merge together. A new experimental device, called the Spark (Robust Compact Affordable from Sonest / Smallest Private Fund) reactor, is being developed by MIT scientists and spinoff company Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
If it succeeds, the spark will be the first means of achieving a “burning plasma”, in which the heat from all fusion reactions keeps the fusion without the need to pull in additional pumps. But no one here on Earth has been able to use the power to ignite plasma in a controlled reaction, and more research is needed before Spark can do that. Construction of the Spark project, which began in 2018, is set to begin next June, with the reactor set to begin operations in 2025. This is much faster than the world’s largest fusion power project, known as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Conceived in 1985 but not launched until 2007; And although construction began in 2013, the project is not expected to generate a fusion reaction by 2035.
Another advantage of the spark over the ITER is that the spark’s magnet is designed to limit its plasma. Spark will use a so-called high-temperature superconducting magnet that has only become commercially available in the last three to five years, long after the first ITER was created. These new magnets can produce more powerful magnetic fields than ITER – a maximum of 21 Tesla, compared to ITER’s maximum 12 Tesla. (By comparison, the Earth’s magnetic field has a Tesla force of 30 million to 60 million masses.)
This powerful magnet suggests that the main part of the spark may be three times smaller in diameter, and 60 to 70 times smaller than the heart of the ITER, which is 6 meters wide. “It’s a dramatic reduction in size, along with a reduction in weight and costs,” Greenwald told LiveScience. “It’s really a game-changer.”
In seven new studies, researchers outlined the calculations and supercomputer simulations underlying spark formation. Studies have shown that a spark produces at least twice as much energy as it does.
The heat from the fusion reactor will generate steam. This steam will then run turbines and electrical generators, generating most of the electricity nowadays.
“Fusion power plants can be a one-to-one replacement for fossil fuel plants, and you don’t have to restructure the electrical grid for them,” Greenwall said. In contrast, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are “not well covered by the current design of the electric grid.”
Researchers eventually hope that the spark-induced fusion power plants will generate 250 to 1,000 megawatts of electricity. In the current power market in the United States, power plants typically generate between 100 and 500 megawatts, Greenwood said.
The spark will only generate heat, not electricity. Once the researchers build and test the spark, they plan to build an ARC (affordable robust compact) reactor, which will generate electricity from that heat by 2035.
“It’s very ambitious, but that’s the goal we’re working towards,” Greenwall said. “I think it’s really sensible.”
Published on Original Living Science.
