Energy crisis is one of the most serious problems the world is facing now. Soaring price of oil is not surprising anymore, since its amount have decreased significantly. Many experts predict that natural oil will be gone in the next few decades. So, alternative sources of energy, such as nuclear, are indeed sought after by people.
The principle of nuclear energy is to use the binding energy, which is responsible for maintaining the composition of protons and neutrons, in the nucleus of atoms. The idea of fusion is to combine together light atoms such as hydrogen, and energy will be released during the process. However, using nuclear energy is not an easy thing, especially the fusion reaction. It needs about one hundred million degrees of temperature, which looks impossible for scientists to provide.
However, continuous researches yield a potential solution. This potential solution, tested at an experimental reactor in San Diego, US, could make the next generation of fusion reactors more efficient, saving hundreds of millions of euros a year. (Nuclear Fusion Plasma Problem Tackled). According to Todd Evans, a plasma physicist at General Atomics, a company based in San Diego, California, US, the solution is to apply small currents in the coil around the main reactor to divert the hot particles’ movement so that these particles may not damage the main reactor by hitting it continuously.
Still, the theory behind some experiments may not precisely match the result in reality. Evans notice this problem also occurs in this experiment. His prediction is that the reactors and the diverters will still be damaged heavily, and should be replaced every two or three years.
Nonetheless, this is a great step in making the usage of fusion energy become more efficient. It may induce other solutions to come up, and hence solving the problems of energy crisis.
Kleiner, K. (2006). Nuclear Fusion Plasma Problem Tackled. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from NewScientistTech.
Website : http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn9202-nuclear-fusion-plasma-problem-tackled.html
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2 comments:
Your portfolio is about one of the biggest problem on the world. And nuclear energy, as you said, is the promising new energy.
However, there are many concerns about nuclear energy. Its effectiveness has not yet been shown but its danger was known. The explosion of the nuclear energy factory of Chernobyl in Ukraine left serious consequences.
If the issue of the safety is solved, nuclear energy will be the energy of the future.
You mention one of the most important issues for human beings in the 21st century, Energy crisis. And nuclear is indeed a promising way to solve this problem. In the last century, human have made some breakthroughs in this area. Many nuclear power plants have been built all over the world. But safety and efficiency are problems that block nuclear technologies from widely use. Scientists and engineering are never giving up efforts to make nuclear technologies safer and more efficient. I believed there must be one day that energy crisis will eventually be solved.
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