Important breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology
Inspired by observations on the behaviour of plasma in planetary magnetospheres and fusion research experiments, scientists from MIT and Columbia University have developed a novel way of confining plasma employing a levitating high power magnet.
THE QUEST for developing a nuclear fusion reactor has received a boost. In a crucial breakthrough, scientists in a joint project of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Columbia University in the United States successfully tested a novel way of confining plasma at high temperature using a levitating high power magnet.
Today, all our nuclear energy comes from the process of nuclear fission, wherein a radioactive atom is split into two giving off a high amount of energy. Higher amounts of energy can be generated from another process called nuclear fusion, wherein two lighter atoms of Hydrogen are combined together.
The technology to control nuclear fission has been successfully mastered. However, sustaining a nuclear fusion reaction, to provide steady energy, throws up serious theoretical and practical difficulties, as nuclear fusion occurs only in conditions of high temperature, in the order of millions of degrees Celsius, and high pressure.
So far, two methods have been explored – magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. High temperature plasma cannot be contained in any solid vessel like water in a glass or gas in a cylinder. Scientists working on nuclear fusion, therefore, focus on finding a way to keep high temperature plasma suspended in space.
In magnetic confinement, a machine called tokamak is used. The tokamak is a device that employs magnetic and electric fields to hold hot plasma as well as squeeze it to create the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. This is the design that is used by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, of which India is a partner. India also operates a tokamak, the indigenously built ADITYA, at the Institute for Plasma Research, Ahmedabad.
In inertial confinement, a core of Hydrogen isotopes is fired by laser beams from all directions to squeeze it and create high pressure and temperature. The National Ignition Facility of the United States has reported a successful experiment of this technology only a few days ago.
The current experiment has validated another promising new method for confining plasma. The scientists, A. C. Boxer, R. Bergmann, J. L. Ellsworth, J. Kesner, P. Woskow of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT, and D. T. Garnier, M. E. Mauel of the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University, used observations on the behaviour of plasma in planetary magnetospheres and fusion energy experiments.
The scientists artificially created a similar scenario using a magnet (for the planet) and plasma (for the solar wind.) By increasing turbulence in the plasma, they could squeeze the plasma together and create conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. The high intensity superconducting magnet was kept levitated in space, to hold the plasma and also to eliminate distortion of the magnetic field that can occur if the magnet is held by supports.
While magnetic confinement is the most researched approach, this latest breakthrough offers an exciting new way to develop a working nuclear fusion reactor.
The technology to control nuclear fission has been successfully mastered. However, sustaining a nuclear fusion reaction, to provide steady energy, throws up serious theoretical and practical difficulties, as nuclear fusion occurs only in conditions of high temperature, in the order of millions of degrees Celsius, and high pressure.
At high temperatures, Hydrogen exists in the form of plasma, considered as a fourth state of matter on account of its peculiar properties. Confining plasma at high temperature and pressure is a steep theoretical and technological challenge.
So far, two methods have been explored – magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. High temperature plasma cannot be contained in any solid vessel like water in a glass or gas in a cylinder. Scientists working on nuclear fusion, therefore, focus on finding a way to keep high temperature plasma suspended in space.
In magnetic confinement, a machine called tokamak is used. The tokamak is a device that employs magnetic and electric fields to hold hot plasma as well as squeeze it to create the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. This is the design that is used by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, of which India is a partner. India also operates a tokamak, the indigenously built ADITYA, at the Institute for Plasma Research, Ahmedabad.
In inertial confinement, a core of Hydrogen isotopes is fired by laser beams from all directions to squeeze it and create high pressure and temperature. The National Ignition Facility of the United States has reported a successful experiment of this technology only a few days ago.
The current experiment has validated another promising new method for confining plasma. The scientists, A. C. Boxer, R. Bergmann, J. L. Ellsworth, J. Kesner, P. Woskow of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT, and D. T. Garnier, M. E. Mauel of the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University, used observations on the behaviour of plasma in planetary magnetospheres and fusion energy experiments.
A magnetosphere is formed when a stream of charged particles, such as the solar wind, interacts with the magnetic field of a planet. They noted that turbulence in planetary magnetospheres causes plasma to become more densely concentrated.
The scientists artificially created a similar scenario using a magnet (for the planet) and plasma (for the solar wind.) By increasing turbulence in the plasma, they could squeeze the plasma together and create conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. The high intensity superconducting magnet was kept levitated in space, to hold the plasma and also to eliminate distortion of the magnetic field that can occur if the magnet is held by supports.
While magnetic confinement is the most researched approach, this latest breakthrough offers an exciting new way to develop a working nuclear fusion reactor.
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