Innovative projects using modern superconductors will soon allow controlled thermonuclear fusion, some optimists say. Experts, however, predict that practical application will take several decades.
Why is it so difficult?
Fusion energy is considered a potential source of energy for the future. This is the pure energy of the atom. But what is it and why is it so difficult to achieve? To begin with, we need to understand the difference between classical nuclear fission and thermonuclear fusion.
The fission of the atom is when radioactive isotopes - uranium or plutonium - are fissioned and turned into other highly radioactive isotopes, which then must be buried or recycled.
The fusion reaction is when two isotopes of hydrogen - deuterium and tritium - fuse into a single whole, forming non-toxic helium and a single neutron, without producing radioactive waste.
Control problem
Reactions thatoccur in the Sun or in a hydrogen bomb - this is thermonuclear fusion, and engineers face a daunting task - how to control this process at a power plant?
This is something scientists have been working on since the 1960s. Another experimental fusion reactor called Wendelstein 7-X has started operation in the northern German city of Greifswald. It is not yet designed to create a reaction - it is just a special design that is being tested (a stellarator instead of a tokamak).
High Energy Plasma
All thermonuclear installations have a common feature - an annular shape. It is based on the idea of using powerful electromagnets to create a strong electromagnetic field shaped like a torus - an inflated bicycle tube.
This electromagnetic field must be so dense that when it is heated in a microwave oven to one million degrees Celsius, a plasma must appear in the very center of the ring. It is then ignited so that fusion can begin.
Demonstration of possibilities
In Europe, two such experiments are currently underway. One of them is the Wendelstein 7-X, which recently generated its first helium plasma. The other is ITER, a huge experimental fusion facility in the south of France that is still under construction and will be ready to go live in 2023.
It is assumed that real nuclear reactions will occur at ITER, however, only infor a short period of time and certainly no longer than 60 minutes. This reactor is just one of many steps towards making nuclear fusion a reality.
Fusion reactor: smaller and more powerful
Recently, several designers have announced a new reactor design. According to a group of students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as representatives of the weapons company Lockheed Martin, fusion can be carried out in facilities that are much more powerful and smaller than ITER, and they are ready to do it within ten years.
The idea of the new design is to use modern high-temperature superconductors in electromagnets, which exhibit their properties when cooled with liquid nitrogen, rather than conventional ones, which require liquid helium. A new, more flexible technology will allow a complete redesign of the reactor.
Klaus Hesch, who is in charge of nuclear fusion technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in southwest Germany, is skeptical. It supports the use of new high-temperature superconductors for new reactor designs. But, according to him, to develop something on a computer, taking into account the laws of physics, is not enough. It is necessary to take into account the challenges that arise when putting an idea into practice.
Sci-fi
According to Hesh, the MIT student model only shows the possibility of a project. But it's actually a lot of science fiction. Projectsuggests that the serious technical problems of fusion have been solved. But modern science has no idea how to solve them.
One such problem is the idea of collapsible coils. Electromagnets can be dismantled in order to get inside the ring that holds the plasma in the MIT design model.
This would be very useful because one could access objects in the internal system and replace them. But in reality, superconductors are made of ceramic material. Hundreds of them must be intertwined in a sophisticated way to form the correct magnetic field. And here there are more fundamental difficulties: the connections between them are not as simple as the connections of copper cables. No one has yet even thought of concepts that would help solve such problems.
Too hot
High temperature is also a problem. At the core of the fusion plasma, the temperature will reach about 150 million degrees Celsius. This extreme heat remains in place - right in the center of the ionized gas. But even around it it is still very hot - from 500 to 700 degrees in the reactor zone, which is the inner layer of a metal pipe in which the tritium necessary for nuclear fusion to occur will "reproduce"
The fusion reactor has an even bigger problem - the so-called power release. This is the part of the system that receives the used fuel, mainly helium, from the fusion process. Firstthe metal components into which the hot gas enters are called "divertors". It can heat up to over 2000°C.
Divertor problem
In order for the plant to withstand these temperatures, engineers are trying to use the metal tungsten used in old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs. The melting point of tungsten is about 3000 degrees. But there are other limitations as well.
In ITER, this can be done, because the heating in it does not occur constantly. It is assumed that the reactor will operate only 1-3% of the time. But that's not an option for a power plant that needs to run 24/7. And, if someone claims to be able to build a smaller reactor with the same power as ITER, it is safe to say that he does not have a solution to the divertor problem.
Power plant in a few decades
Nevertheless, scientists are optimistic about the development of thermonuclear reactors, however, it will not be as fast as some enthusiasts predict.
ITER should show that controlled fusion can actually produce more energy than would be spent on heating the plasma. The next step is to build a brand new hybrid demonstration power plant that actually generates electricity.
Engineers are already working on its design. They will have to learn from ITER, which is scheduled to launch in 2023. Considering the time required for design, planning and construction, it seemsit is unlikely that the first fusion power plant will be launched much earlier than the middle of the 21st century.
Rossi Cold Fusion
In 2014, an independent test of the E-Cat reactor concluded that the device produced an average of 2800 watts of output power over a 32-day period with a consumption of 900 watts. This is more than any chemical reaction is capable of isolating. The result speaks either of a breakthrough in thermonuclear fusion, or of outright fraud. The report disappointed skeptics, who doubt whether the test was truly independent and suggest possible falsification of the test results. Others have been busy figuring out the "secret ingredients" that enable Rossi's fusion to replicate the technology.
Rossi is a scammer?
Andrea is imposing. He publishes proclamations to the world in unique English in the comments section of his website, pretentiously called the Journal of Nuclear Physics. But his previous failed attempts have included an Italian waste-to-fuel project and a thermoelectric generator. Petroldragon, a waste-to-energy project, failed in part because the illegal dumping of waste is controlled by Italian organized crime, which has filed criminal charges against it for violating waste management regulations. He also created a thermoelectric device for the US Army Corps of Engineers, but during testing, the gadget produced only a fraction of the declared power.
Many do not trust Rossi, and the editor-in-chief of the New Energy Times bluntly called him a criminal with a string of failed energy projects behind him.
Independent verification
Rossi signed a contract with the American company Industrial Heat to conduct a year-long secret test of a 1-MW cold fusion plant. The device was a shipping container packed with dozens of E-Cats. The experiment had to be controlled by a third party who could confirm that heat generation was indeed taking place. Rossi claims to have spent much of the past year practically living in a container and overseeing operations for more than 16 hours a day to prove the commercial viability of the E-Cat.
The test ended in March. Rossi's supporters eagerly awaited the observers' report, hoping for an acquittal for their hero. But in the end they got a lawsuit.
Litigation
In a Florida court filing, Rossi claims that the test was successful and an independent arbitrator confirmed that the E-Cat reactor produces six times more energy than it consumes. He also claimed that Industrial Heat had agreed to pay him $100 million - $11.5 million upfront after the 24-hour trial (ostensibly for licensing rights so the company could sell the technology in the US) and another $89 million after the successful completion of the extended trial. within 350 days. Rossi accused IH of running a "fraudulent scheme"the purpose of which was to steal his intellectual property. He also accused the company of misappropriating E-Cat reactors, illegally copying innovative technologies and products, functionality and designs, and abusing a patent on his intellectual property.
Mine of Gold
Elsewhere, Rossi claims that in one of his demonstrations, IH received $50-60 million from investors and another $200 million from China after a replay involving top Chinese officials. If this is true, then a lot more than a hundred million dollars is at stake. Industrial Heat has dismissed these claims as baseless and is going to actively defend itself. More importantly, she claims that she "worked for over three years to confirm the results that Rossi allegedly achieved with his E-Cat technology, with no success."
IH doesn't believe in the E-Cat, and the New Energy Times sees no reason to doubt it. In June 2011, a representative of the publication visited Italy, interviewed Rossi and filmed a demonstration of his E-Cat. A day later, he reported his serious concerns about the method of measuring thermal power. After 6 days, the journalist posted his video on YouTube. Experts from all over the world sent him analyzes, which were published in July. It became clear that this was a hoax.
Experimental confirmation
However, a number of researchers - Alexander Parkhomov from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia and the Martin Fleishman Memorial Project (MFPM) -managed to reproduce the cold thermonuclear fusion of Russia. The MFPM report was titled "The End of the Carbon Era Is Near". The reason for such admiration was the discovery of a burst of gamma radiation, which cannot be explained otherwise than by a thermonuclear reaction. According to researchers, Rossi has exactly what he says.
A viable open recipe for cold fusion could spark an energy gold rush. Alternative methods may be found to bypass Rossi's patents and keep him out of the multi-billion dollar energy business.
So perhaps Rossi would prefer to avoid this confirmation.
