Government lab makes breakthrough that sounds like something from science fiction: ‘Exciting results’
A team of researchers designed an exhaust system that significantly reduces the overheating in the fusion reactors.
Scientists have drew attention to the potential of clean and almost unlimited energy of nuclear fusion for years. However, one of the biggest challenges is the safe use of intense heat from plasma before hitting the reactor walls.
With the race to make nuclear fusion cheaper and more practical on a mass scale, it has become compulsory to find solutions to this difficulty.
One to work Fusion Researchers, published in Nature Energy magazine, returned to alternative Divertor configurations as a possible solution while working on the Mega Amp in the UK Global Tokamak. British government.
ADCs are designed to create a neutral gas buffer that helps protect the reactor wall.
The researchers developed the “Super-X Diverter” using the extended “legs” of plasma compared to traditional designs. This provided more space to cool the plasma before hitting the divert walls.
According to A Press release This design, explaining the findings of the team, showed “important benefits in controlling fusion temperature”.
The United Kingdom’s Atomic Energy Authority and Mast High Engineer President James Harrison, “exciting results” Ukaea, Tu Eindhoven, the Dutch Institute of Basic Energy Studies and Eurofusion researchers are the result of the cooperative effort, he said.
“It is an important progress to improve the solid control of plasma exhaust on future machines,” to show that the plasma conditions in the divanors of Mast upgrade can be controlled independently, “Harrison said in a statement. He said.
Contrary to the burning of dirty fuels for energy, Fusion does not release carbon dioxide, one of the main driving forces of rising global temperatures. As a clean and abundant energy source, nuclear fusion can play a very important role in reducing the use of fossil fuel and adopting a broader energy resources.
Although nuclear fission can provide reliable, low -carbon energy, increasing radioactive nuclear waste concern requires appropriate retention and management. However, it does not create long -lasting radioactive waste such as nuclear fusion and nuclear fission, which makes it an attractive option as an international atomic energy agency explains.
According to Kevin Verhagh, a fusion researcher of the University of Eindhoven Technology and the co -author of the study, the breakthrough can be locked by the real potential of nuclear fusion -based energy production by providing great benefit to similar projects in the future.
“We were able to show that even a modest, but strategic modification of Divertor can offer many benefits of excessive diverter geometries,” Verhagh said. in question.
With research on nuclear fusion, experts can eventually reduce additional safety concerns about technology.
“Since it is more difficult to realize such excessive geometries in an electrical power plant, these results are opening new ways to improve the design of future fusion machines,” Verhagh said.
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