Fusion energy could change human history
The introduction of fusion energy can create a leap in history reminiscent of the beginning of the use of electricity. This form of production is a candidate to produce enough energy to last for millions of years.
If you want proof that the process known as ’nuclear fusion’ can produce energy on a scale found anywhere in the universe, you only need to look at the night sky: every ray of light there is a natural nuclear fusion-powered reactor. For decades, scientists have been trying to bring the energy source of stars to Earth, and the Culham Fusion Energy Center in Oxfordshire recently reached a new milestone in igniting and sustaining an artificial mini-star with a remarkable experiment it announced.
In short, scientists who developed a doughnut-shaped machine called the Joint European Torus (JET) doubled the previous world record, which was broken in 1997 in the context of the energy emitted by fusion reactions. The level of fusion energy emitted while the experiment was in progress was equivalent to that emitted by four wind turbines, a step towards industrial-scale energy production.
(Note: The power source, called the Joint European Torus (JET), stands out both for its shape and for its system that resembles the Sun’s heat dissipation process.)
EXPERIMENTS HAD A POSITIVE RESULT
In accordance with the Jet’s design and objectives, a lower level of fusion power was generated than was needed to heat the fuel. In fact, so far, no experiments have obtained higher energy from fusion than that used to start reactions, a process that remains the most important goal of fusion scientists around the world. What the latest results have provided us with is a convincing finding that larger and more powerful stellar energy machines that operate in ways similar to Jet, such as the ‘Iter Project’, which is currently under construction in France and funded by an international partnership, can produce more power than they consume.
Another important aspect was that although this experiment lasted only five seconds, the reactions stopped not because of a breakdown in the fuel, as seen earlier, but because the support equipment overheated excessively. In the new generation of machines, cryogenic cooling systems can prevent this problem; This being the case, it now seems possible to extend the process from five seconds to five minutes, five hours or even longer.
ENOUGH ENERGY TO USE FOR THUSANDS / MILLIONS OF YEARS
So, why would the rest of society care if these scientists could recreate the power of a star? Fusion energy has the potential to produce clean energy across the planet. If this system can be perfected, there is enough fuel for every person in the world to use as much energy as the average American uses annually, at least for thousands and possibly millions of years. This form of energy production does not produce carbon dioxide or long-lived radioactive waste, and there is no possibility of meltdowns like those at Chernobyl and Fukushima. Today, energy production is not enough, which is the leading cause of the climate crisis and is being used like a dangerous geopolitical chess piece.
SOURCE: gazeteduvar.com.tr/fuzyon-enerjisi-insanlik-tarihini-degistirebilir-haber-1553554
