Hello Word
I am Imagination.
In this video, I am going to talk about Fusion
Power.
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation
that would generate electricity by using heat
from nuclear fusion reactions.
In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei
combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing
energy.
Devices designed to harness this energy are
known as fusion reactors.
Fusion processes require fuel and a confined
environment with sufficient temperature, pressure,
and confinement time to create a plasma in
which fusion can occur.
The combination of these figures that results
in a power-producing system is known as the
Lawson criterion.
In stars, the most common fuel is hydrogen,
and gravity provides extremely long confinement
times that reach the conditions needed for
fusion energy production.
Proposed fusion reactors generally use hydrogen
isotopes such as deuterium and tritium, which
react more easily than hydrogen to allow them
to reach the Lawson criterion requirements
with less extreme conditions.
Most designs aim to heat their fuel to tens
of millions of degrees, which presents a major
challenge in producing a successful design.
As a source of power, nuclear fusion is expected
to have several advantages over fission.
These include reduced radioactivity in operation
and little high-level nuclear waste, ample
fuel supplies, and increased safety.
For centuries, humans have dreamed of harnessing
the power of the sun to energize our lives
here on Earth.
But we want to go beyond collecting solar
energy, and one day generate our own from
a mini-sun.
If we’re able to solve an extremely complex
set of scientific and engineering problems,
fusion energy promises a green, safe, unlimited
source of energy.
From just one kilogram of deuterium extracted
from water per day could come enough electricity
to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
Since the 1950s, scientific and engineering
research has generated enormous progress toward
forcing hydrogen atoms to fuse together in
a self-sustaining reaction – as well as
a small but demonstrable amount of fusion
energy.
Skeptics and proponents alike note the two
most important remaining challenges: maintaining
the reactions over long periods of time and
devising a material structure to harness the
fusion power for electricity.
Unlike other forms of electrical generation,
such as solar, natural gas, and nuclear fission,
fusion cannot be developed in miniature and
then be simply scaled up.
The experimental steps are large and take
time to build.
But the problem of abundant, clean energy
will be a major calling for humankind for
the next century and beyond.
It would be foolhardy not to exploit fully
this most promising energy source.
Fusion power is clean.
It emits no greenhouse gases and produces
only helium and a neutron.
It is safe.
There is no possibility for a runaway reaction,
like a nuclear-fission “meltdown.”
Rather, if there is any malfunction, the plasma
cools, and the fusion reactions cease.
All these attributes have motivated research
for decades, and have become even more attractive
over time.
engineers started construction of the world’s
largest nuclear fusion project in southern
France, The Guardian reports, with operations
planned to begin in late 2025.
The project, called ITER, is an international
collaborative effort between 35 countries
with enormous ambitions: prove the feasibility
of fusion energy with a gigantic magnetic
device called a “tokamak,” as per the
project’s official website.
“Enabling the exclusive use of clean energy
will be a miracle for our planet,” ITER
director-general Bernard Bigot said, as quoted
by The Guardian.
ITER may be a massive international effort
to make fusion energy a reality, but it’s
not the only one.
A large number of fusion startups in the US
and abroad are trying to turn it into a commercially
viable source of energy as well.
That's all for today.
Thanks for watching.
