A leap forward for fusion power

News: Physicists at the National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in Livermore California, claim to have generated nearly as much energy as they put into an inertial confinement system.

This development is regarding the break through research in nuclear fusion process. Though Nuclear fusion has many benefits, some drawbacks make it unviable as of now.

What are the benefits of nuclear fusion process?

Nuclear fusion is a potentially inexhaustible source, and it has no dangerous side effects.

Fusion causes no poisonous radiation. There are no emissions of carbon compounds, or any other pollutants.

What are the challenges associated with nuclear fusion process?

Firstly, triggering fusion reactions requires temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius, and pressures of 100 billion Earth atmospheres.

Secondly, currently nuclear fusion process is triggered by nuclear fission process. However, this process is very destructive, as the fission explosion also releases lethal radiation that may last for millennia.

A more usable form of fusion would require a less destructive trigger, and it would release fusion energy in a controlled, usable format.

What are the options available to make nuclear fusion sustainable?

Both the methods given below are capable of generating controllable energy rather than explosions, and they don’t cause radiation.

Magnetic confinement designs/ Tokamak’s magnetic fields: It creates a very powerful magnetic field, which confines the fusion material.

Inertial confinement: In this process, fusion material is stored inside a physical capsule, which is squeezed.

However, creating a Tokamak’s magnetic fields and sustaining it, or bombarding an inertial containment capsule, takes large amount of energies. In this context, the recent breakthrough that claims to have generated nearly as much energy as they put into an inertial confinement system holds significance.

Source: This post is based on the article “A leap forward for fusion power” published in Business Standard on 4^th Dec 2021.