Atoms Unleashed: A Technical Exploration of Nuclear Fusion’s Clean Energy Potential
As the world faces the dire consequences of climate change and the increasing demand for energy, it is clear that our current solutions are not enough. Despite efforts to reduce carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy sources, the reality is that traditional fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy mix and global temperatures continue to rise.
It’s time for bold and innovative thinking to tackle this critical issue and secure a sustainable future for all. One promising solution that has long been discussed but is yet to be fully realized is nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion has the potential to provide an abundant, clean and safe energy source that could help address the world’s energy needs and combat climate change.
What is Nuclear Fusion?
In Nuclear Fusion, two atoms of relatively lightweight are forced to collide at speeds so great they overcome the natural magnetic field that separates them and fuse into one larger atom. This is called magnetic repulsion.
The sub-atomic structure
Within the nucleus are Protons & Neutrons; these are called constituents. Every constituent has a unique mass.
The most commonly used atoms in fusion are two isotopes of Hydrogen, Deuterium & Tritium. An isotope is a sub-category to the elements on the periodic table which have the same number of protons as the main element but a different number of neutrons & electrons. When Deuterium & Tritium fuse (D-T) they form Helium 4.
Because we know Helium 4 has 2 protons, 2 neutrons & 2 electrons, we can calculate the mass of the atom by adding the mass of 2 protons + 2 neutrons + 2 electrons. This would give you 4.0329u, this is called the mass of constituents. But this is inaccurate. The actual mass of the Helium 4 atom is 4.002603u. Less than the mass of constituents. Strange right? The difference between the mass of constituents & actual mass is called the mass defect.
What is a mass defect? — Binding Energy
Within the brain of an atom, the nucleus, there is a force acting that holds the neutrons & protons together as one. This force is called binding energy. The constituents (protons & neutrons) use a fraction of their energy to hold the nucleus together.
Why is it so difficult to fuse atoms?
Imagine you held two magnets in each of your hands, then took both of their north poles and held them together. You would feel their magnetic fields pushing apart.
This happens because the direction in which each of the magnet’s magnetic fields moves is the same, making their field lines part and push against each other.
But if you ignored this phenomenon and forced those two magnets together, overcoming their opposing magnetic field wouldn’t be so difficult.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy with atoms. Because of how minuscule the mass of atoms is, the effects of the electromagnetic field repelling are significantly more difficult to overcome. We call this the coulomb force.
The electrons that orbit atoms are negatively charged, therefore, have a small magnetic field that makes atoms repel like magnets when brought close together. The bigger an atom, the more electrons. Therefore the stronger the electromagnetic field. This is one of the reasons smaller atoms are chosen for fusion.
How is energy released during fusion?
It’s very common for people to say Nuclear Fusion creates energy. The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created nor-destroyed. So where does the energy come from? For this, let’s go back to middle school science.
Tritium is a radioactive atom because it consists of an uneven ratio of protons to neutrons (2–1) making it unstable. Deuterium, on the other hand, is not radioactive because it has an even ratio of protons to neutrons (1–1). Therefore during fusion, the tritium nucleus must expel 1 neutron in order for the resulting atom to exist in a stable state with an even ratio of neutrons to protons. When this neutron is released from the nucleus, it carries along nearly 80% of the atoms binding energy.
What does the future of Nuclear Fusion look like?
For the past 60 years, nuclear scientists have struggled to break the problem of nuclear fusion. In fact, there's a joke that’s been going around the community for decades about how fusion’s commercialization is perpetually ‘30 years away.’
In the past decade fusion, tech has been growing at exponential speeds. Recently scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved a reaction that yielded more energy output than required to ignite the reaction. This has been a major breakthrough in fusion because it’s the first reaction to reach a state of self-sustenance. The cornerstone of fusion tech.
How might it revolutionize society?
Scientists have been trying to solve fusion for nearly a century, and with the numerous advantages it’d bring society, it’s an unignorable energy source.
Here are some of the advantages:
- Fusion reactions are self-sustaining. Once ignition has been achieved, the plasma will maintain the conditions required. As long as you supply fuel, the reaction is essentially a limitless energy source.
- It’s clean for the environment. There are several different combinations of atoms used across the world (the most common is deuterium & tritium), but they all have one thing in common, minimal nuclear waste.
- The fuel is inexpensive & heavily abundant. Deuterium can be distilled from seawater, and tritium can be created within the reactor in a process called tritium breeding.
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