Imagine a world where we could get nuclear energy efficiently, safely, and in a sustainable way, without damaging the environment. That dream could soon become a reality, as many companies are making the inevitable happen by building nuclear fusion reactors. But, what exactly is nuclear fusion and how does it work?
First of all, and most importantly, nuclear fusion is not to be confused with nuclear fission. To make a complicated process that would require its own paragraph to be explained sufficiently, let’s just say that nuclear fission is a nucleus of an atom splitting into two randomly or by contact with something else, releasing energy in the process.
However, in nuclear fusion, two isotypes of hydrogen, tritium (H-2) and deuterium (H-3), fuse together to form a nucleus of helium (He-4) and a leftover neutron. The newly formed nucleus is less massive than the H-2 and H-3 atoms were, and thus, nuclear fusion occurs.
Although nuclear fusion is what lights up stars, including the Sun, what many people do not know is that it can be used to provide clean, sustainable, and efficient nuclear energy to power our world. When we use coal to create energy, it uses millions of tons of fuel, not to mention the carbon dioxide that it releases into the atmosphere. At some point, though, this has got to stop, because we are going to end up destroying the environment. The solution? Why, a nuclear fusion reactor would be just fine.
In rural France, in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance in Provence, one would find themselves in a country scene straight out of a storybook. The sky is serene and beautiful, and it is a place of vineyards and gently rolling hills. But in the midst of this beauty, the world’s first nuclear fusion reactor is close to being built at the local Cadarache nuclear facility.
The nuclear fusion reactor is called Iter, and was formerly known as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. consists of the main fusion reactor, equal to the size of 60 football fields and a surrounding baseplate complete with pillars that raise the facility aboveground, as well as protect it from any potential earthquakes. It is expected to start operation as early as the 2030’s, essentially, creating a star inside of a box.
Surprisingly, and contrary to popular conception, nuclear fusion has been an idea in the making as early as right after World War II. However, the process was too complicated for technology at the time and was not taken seriously. The idea for Iter, however, started at a summit near the end of the Cold War between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. Despite disagreeing on almost everything, the duo agreed that a nuclear fusion development project as a new source of energy. Soon, Europe and Japan agreed to join the United States and Russia on the project, and today, there are thirty-five countries involved in the initiative, including China, India, and South Korea.
Basically, the reactor works by heating a hydrogen cloud to 10 times the temperature of the core of the Sun, about 150 million degrees Celsius, inside a container called a tokamak that has magnets on the inside of it to prevent the electrically charged particles from hitting its sides and therefore losing energy. However, it is not as easy as it sounds to build a proper tokamak. “The plasma is a bit like a lump of jelly and you are holding it with a magnetic field which is a bit like knitting wool – and imagine holding a lump of jelly with a few pieces of knitting,” says Steven Cowley, the chief executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
Although building Iter may cost millions, if not billions, of dollars, it may as well be a worthwhile project, because it will save humans pain later on, when there is no other form of energy to be found. The EU has ordered full decarbonization of power generation by 2050, meaning that no carbon emissions shall be emitted from any power generator within the borders of the EU. So, the future forces us to find new ways to generate clean energy, and we have responded to that challenge by building a nuclear fusion reactor.
Works Cited
Forshaw, Jeff. "Nuclear Fusion – Your Day Has Come." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 18 May 2016.
Jha, Alok. "When You Wish upon a Star: Nuclear Fusion and the Promise of a Brighter Future." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 May 2016.
