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NUCLEAR FUSION.

Process, effects, applications, problems. Diagrams.

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Process--Energy has always been an important ingredient in the development of civilization. Large amounts of energy are necessary for sustaining industrial nations and bringing forward Third World countries. An adult human requires approximately 2500 food calories or about 100 watts of power, to sustain life (3:1). In the United States, the per capita consumption of all forms of energy is approximately 100 times this basic sustenance rate. For the entire world population, energy consumption is about 15 times the basis rate (3:1). A number of questions continue to arise. Is enough energy available? How long will the energy supply last? When will new sources be required? What world events will disrupt the flow of raw energy material, and what countries will suffer? Clearly, an inexhaustible supply of energy is required. This inexhaustible supply of energy may be

Dean, S. For the entire world population, energy consumption isabout 15 times the basis rate (3:1). These neutron streams will irradiate the components of thefusion reactors. The real challenge in magneticfusion approaches, is to confine the high temperature fuel for a longenough period of time as is necessary such that a sufficient amount ofenergy is released. Biological effects of weak magnetic fields andoperation of high power, high frequency and microwave systems are but a fewof the emerging non-radiological concerns (5:265). O., ed. Large amounts of energy are necessary for sustainingindustrial nations and bringing forward Third World countries. Thus,the need for fusion secrecy disappeared. Development of superior magnets and super conductingmaterials has brought magnetic bottle and magnetic fusion technology intoreality. Although it has yet to beexperimentally confirmed, a number of large experiments are underway toachieve fusion "scientific breakeven" where the power developed from fusionreactions is at least equal to the external power injected into the plasma(3:4). Estimated costs of solar electrical power are in the $ . Fission breeder reactors are already successful. Since the plasma temperature and density necessary for hydrogenfusion are beyond the current state-of-the-art in materials technology,science has long theorized that a magnetic bottle is the only practicalcontainment vehicle. Because of this, the power plant designer will beable to select materials that will be less susceptible to neutron particleirradiation and thus control the problem from the outset of the plantdesign process.Applications--It was postulated as early as 1929, that energy production inmost stars is due to nuclear reactions involving the light elements. Fusion powerplants therefore offer prospects of continuous, abundant, and relativelycheap sources of power. Raeder, J. Gross, R. Breaking up theheaviest nuclei into lighter ones releases energy. Nuclear fusion research experiments fall into the following twogeneral classifications: magnetic confinement oriented and inertialconfinement oriented (2:11). Also, easier and cheaper neutron sources (from atomicpiles) had become available for breeding military grade plutonium. Controlled nuclear fusion--fundamentals of it's utilization for energy supply. The simultaneousexistence of large amounts of stored energy by which radioactivity could bereleased provides a further hazard (5:243). Dolan, T. Thus the reference to magnetic fusion technology inthe literature. Fusion derived power will beespecially valuable if any of the following conditions were to occur: Fuelimports become limited or disrupted; coal use cannot rapidly increase dueto mining, transportation, or environmental limitations; solar electricpower costs do not become more competitive; high interest rates; and if thetechnology can be rapidly developed.Problems--The technology for producing fusion reactions is difficult andinitiating, as well as sustaining the process is complex. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1984.4. One difficulty remained--how does one plug the hole at the end ofthe bottle in order to retain the plasma? In the early period of fusion research, a few pioneering attemptswere made to determine what a nuclear fusion based power plant would looklike and what new technology would be needed. It is estimated that the cost of development for fusion power will bein the $3 billion range (2:14). Most of the increase will be indeveloping nations. Concerns for redirecting inertial technology to military weaponsapplications has inhibited serious commercial interest in this technology. Fusion energy. Fusion research--princilples, experiments and technology. Heppenheimer, T. These elements are also the most stablebecause any rearrangement of nuclei requires energy. Fulfillment of these needs canonly be realized through the combined use of fission, solar, and fusionpower sources. How long will the energy supply last?When will new sources be required? The mass of a nucleon (a neutron or a proton) is slightly differentwithin the nuclei of the various elements. Fourth, fusionreactors are able to create the very high temperatures needed for steelproduction and to produce commercial quantities of hydrogen gas from water. Clearly, fusion energy represents the most abundant and intenseenergy source known to mankind. Is enough energy available? Magnetic confinement uses strong magneticfields to provide thermal insulation between the plasma and the walls ofthe confinement chamber. The high energy density is attained bycompression of a solid fuel pellet to over 1 times its normal initialdensity through irradiation by laser beamsand/or ion particle beams.Effects--Large power densities represent only one of the reasons fusionreactors hold hope for performance over fission type reactors which aretoday the most prevalent. It is primarilyfor these reasons that practical fusion based power plants are not expectedto be put on-line until after the year 2 (1:vii). Carbon-dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere may limit theallowable coal consumption. Second, fusion products derived from magneticprocesses are unsuitable for nuclear weapons. Fusion reactor design studies estimate electrical power costs ofabout $ . Certainly, thenagging concern that any useful technology developed could also bemisapplied to military weapons applications, will continue to hinderadvancements in nuclear fusion technology. In the United States, the per capitaconsumption of all forms of energy is approximately 1 times this basicsustenance rate. Fusion of the light elements offers therefore the possibility of anessentially inexhaustible source of energy that is also considered to berelatively safe and environmentally acceptable. This inexhaustible supply ofenergy may be derived from the nucleus of the atom. In it s uncontrolled form, it is thesource of energy for the hydrogen bomb. The nucleus of the carbon-12atom has a mass of precisely 12 atomic mass units (AMU). This therefore represents a substitute for dwindling supplies of naturalgas. Prior to 195 , however, there was very little effortdevoted to developing fusion as a useful energy source. Today, fusion is emergingfrom its research phase and is entering the engineering development arena.Most scientists are now convinced that safe, controlled nuclear fusion canbe achieved using several techniques. et, al. Production ofenergy in any usable quantity by inertial methodology, will requiredevelopment of devices to rapidly, reliably, and continuously reproduce thereaction and thus transform the released stream of energy into a viableform. Pound for pound, the fusionprocess yields eight times more energy than the nuclear fission of uraniumand over a million times more energy than the burning of fossil fuels(1:vii). 4 per kilowatt-hour (198 constant dollars). The use and production of radioactive materials associated with afusion power plant are of primary environmental concern. The man-made sun--the quest for fusion power. Unfortunately,the energy released from a single pellet will be modest. The currenttrend away from open-cycle water cooling using surface liquids towardsclosed-circuit cooling through the use of cooling towers, will be furtheremphasized in the future (5:265). A. The huge collectorareas and energy storage systems necessary for application of solarelectric technology in a power plant environment, make it difficult toreduce the costs of generating large amounts of solar power. The work was initially keptsecret because of the justifiable concern that fusion reactions couldpotentially be a source of energetic neutrons which, in turn, could beutilized to breed plutonium--a raw material for nuclear fission weapons.By 1955, it became evident that controlled fusion development was going tobe a difficult task. Boston: Little, Brown; 1981.5. Clearly, aninexhaustible supply of energy is required. Free neutrons and free protons havegreater mass than any neutrons and protons bound within a nucleus. Here theobjective is to induce nuclear fusion by heat and pressure. Literature Cited1. Inertial confinement fusion allows free plasmaexpansion and cooling, but relies on an extremely high density of nucleonsto attain the proper performance within a relatively short time period(usually a few nanoseconds). Process--Energy has always been an important ingredient in the developmentof civilization. Other nuclei arecompared against this carbon model. Thus,nucleons in middle atomic weight elements such as iron, nickel, andkrypton, lose the most mass. After 195 ,organized research efforts to achieve controlled fusion energy began in theUnited States, England, and the Soviet Union. (1:xiv-xv). New York: Pergamon Press; 1981.2. Thus, by the beginning of World War II, fusionof light elements was recognized as a very fundamental, yet very largesource of energy. Thus,when atoms and chemical elements are formed, mass disappears, becoming lostin binding energy according to the familiar equation, E=mc2. By1939, the nuclear fusion cycle for energy production in the sun had beenanalyzed in detail (3:5). Prospects for fusion power. 35 to $ . Thesecosts are comparable to costs of power obtained from fission and fossilfuel plants. Once nuclear fusion plants formally come on line, they will mostlikely reveal other types of environmental influences which may or may notbe viewed as serious. Tidal, wave, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal,biomass, and organic waste power all together, will be inadequate tosatisfy the world's long-term energy needs. What comes out of this processis nothing resembling nuclear waste which is loaded with radioactivity.Instead the output products are helium gas and vast amounts of neutronparticles. New York: Pergamon Press; 1982.3. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1986.----------------------- 9 There are certain performance advantages.First, hydrogen as a fuel source is available from water (deuterium) andlithium compounds (tritium). Whereas combining the lightest nuclei intoheavier ones, also releasing energy, is called nuclear fusion (3:4). In 1955, the possibility of using fusionreactions for power production was first predicted and may soon become areality (3:5). 7 to $ .1 per kilowatt-hour range (2:12). During the decade of 196 to197 , design of fusion power plants was put aside due to a realization thata much better understanding of plasma confinement and plasma heating wasneeded. Finally, fusionbased power generation will be more advantageous from an environmentalperspective since fewer radioactive byproducts, other than tritium areproduced. What world events will disrupt the flowof raw energy material, and what countries will suffer? With less concern for secrecy,scientific exchange of information became easier and a better understandingof the technology developed. Potential specific applications of fusion power are shown in Figure 1(2:13). Fifth, electricity production by direct conversion from nuclearfusion processes has been demonstrated to be possible. Therefore, efforts by industrialized nations toconserve energy will not prevent an increase in worldwide power demand.Fossil fuels will be exhausted by the year 2 3 with perhaps the exceptionof coal. Thermal loading of the environment from waste heat generated by thenuclear fusion plants represents a nonradiological effect. Various methods ofplasma retention have been attempted from use of donut-shaped machinesforming a closed endless loop (TOKAMAK and Stellarator), doublets, andcurved cylinders with magnetic mirror ends. This energy release isby definition nuclear fission. Fusion, in contrast to fission, does not rely upon splitting atomsapart. This type of radioactivity is considered to be much lessdangerous and more easily handled than the form of waste derived fromfission plants (4:15). Chemical contaminants are not produced by means of the fusionprocess. A number of questions continue toarise. An alternative to magnetic fusion is inertial fusion where smallquantities of tritium or deuterium are encapsulated in tiny pellets andsubjected to intense bombardment by high energy lasers (1:xvii). Third, fusion based energyis more dense and thus more widely useful than solar power, wind power, andmost other known alternative energy sources (1:xiv). A. It works by fusing them together. The world's power demand will rise totens of terawatts during the 21st century. An adulthuman requires approximately 25 food calories or about 1 watts ofpower, to sustain life (3:1). J.

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