The reactor has the potential to create cleaner, safer energy. It is a project together with the European Union
The largest experimental reactor was nuclear fusion in operation was inaugurated on Friday, December 1, north of Tokyo, Japan. It’s a experimental project jointly with the European Union (EU). It is considered as a “artificial sun” which is the most powerful in the world currently in operation.
It is a machine that reproduces the energy that stars emit naturallybut on Earth, it began to be built in the National Institute of Quantum Science and Technology, more than 15 years ago. However, it was only successfully approved last Friday, when it managed to produce its first plasma inside it, reports Science.
Which is nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is considered a potential energy sourcesince, if a viable way is found to produce more energy than the total used, it could be an alternative to fossil fuels, since it is a problem that is accelerating climate change.
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Infobae
How Japan’s nuclear fusion reactor works
The JT-60SA nuclear fusion reactor is a metal structure with a thread-shaped vacuum chamber inside and a device in the center that generates a magnetic field.
Inside this device, also called “Tokamak” Due to its particular design, a gas composed of deuterium (heavy hydrogen atom) is introduced, which will then be electrically charged to form large quantities of plasma.
The Tokamak has the capacity to keep the plasma hot at 200 million degrees Celsius (360 million degrees Fahrenheit) for about 100 seconds, a record much longer than previous operational reactors of this type.
The safety guaranteed by the Tokamak reactor
The difference between this nuclear fusion reactor and nuclear fission reactors is that They are not dangerous and could not cause a catastrophe.
Nuclear fusion cannot generate a chain reaction because it combines a limited number of atoms, and because it is contained by a magnetic field that, in case of failurewould cause the plasma to cool progressively.
The objective of this JT-60SA reactor will be to investigate the viability of fusion as an energy source on a large scale, carbon-free and capable of being commercialized.
“Fusion has the potential to become a key component of the energy mix in the second half of this century,” said Kadri Simson, EU energy commissioner.
Source: Ambito
