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Nuclear Fusion

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Science & Technology
  • Published
    12th Feb, 2022

Recently, Scientists in the United Kingdom said they have achieved a new milestone in producing nuclear fusion energy, or imitating the way energy is produced in the sun.

Context

Recently, Scientists in the United Kingdom said they have achieved a new milestone in producing nuclear fusion energy, or imitating the way energy is produced in the sun.

  • The record and scientific data from these crucial experiments are a major boost for ITER.

About Nuclear Fusion

  • Nuclear fusion is defined as the combining of several small nuclei into one large nucleus with the subsequent release of huge amounts of energy.
  • Nuclear fusion powers our sun and harnessing this fusion energy could provide an unlimited amount of renewable energy.

About Nuclear Fission

    • Fission is the process of splitting a nucleus in two.
  • Inside each uranium fuel pellet, there are millions of uranium nuclei.
    • When these nuclei are split, a huge amount of energy is released.
  • Some of this energy is from radiation, but the biggest source is kinetic energy.
  • This is the energy that produces heat inside a reactor, which in turn is used to generate steam, and ultimately creates electricity.

About ITER Project

  • ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject, which will be the world’s largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment.
  • The goal of ITER is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use.
  • The project is funded and run by seven member entities—the European Union, India, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
    • The EU, as host party for the ITER complex, is contributing about 45 per cent of the cost, with the other six parties contributing approximately 9 per cent each.
  • Construction of the ITER Tokamak (doughnut-shaped apparatus) complex started in 2013 and the building costs were over US$14 billion by June 2015.

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