Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is potentially a huge source of energy, but it has not yet been developed to the point where it is sufficiently controlled or productive to be commercially viable. However, there is extensive research currently underway by multiple academic and commercial organizations, with the objective of turning nuclear fusion into a source of virtually limitless electrical energy.
Nuclear fusion is a process in which the nucleii of small elements (e.g. hydrogen) combine to form heavier elements and give off large amounts of energy in the process. Nuclear fusion differs markedly from nuclear fission, which is the process used in all currently existing nuclear power plants. Nuclear fission produces energy by the splitting of the nucleii of very large elements (e.g. uranium 238). Fission also releases large amounts of energy in the process of splitting a nucleus; however, fission has problems associated with it that are not encountered in nuclear fusion.
There are multiple advantages of using nuclear fusion instead of nuclear fission or fossil fuels as a source of energy. Some of those advantages are:
- No chance of runaway, uncontrollable reactions
- Virtually unlimited supply of inexpensive fuel (hydrogen from water)
- Much less radioactive byproducts than in nuclear fission
- No emissions of greenhouse gases
Nuclear Fission
Current Status of Fusion
Unlike nuclear fission, nuclear fusion is a very difficult process to contain and control. In order to have a successful fusion reaction, the nucleii be fused together must be forced to collide at speeds and energy levels that would quickly do great damage to any material system used to contain the reaction. For that reason magnetic fields are used to contain the reactions, but magnetic fields require very precise engineering designs to be configured effectively. Progress is being made on this requirement, but the designs required have not yet been achieved.
Current Research on Fusion
There are a number of projects underway with the objective of developing commercially viable fusion reactors. Each is unique in its own way. Following is a list of some of the projects.
- Agni Energy, Inc
- Applied Fusion Systems
- Commonwealth Fusion Systems
- CT Fusion (Dynomak)
- EMCC
- First Light Fusion
- General Fusion
- Helion Energy
- Hyper-V + The PLX
- ITER
- Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Fusion
- Lockheed Martin Compact Fusion Reactor
- MagLIF
- MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
- TAE Technologies
- Tokamak Energy
- Wendelstein-7X