[ad_1]
European scientists recently claimed to have made a major breakthrough in practical nuclear fusion. Experiments conducted at the UK-based Joint European Torus (JET) laboratory in Oxfordshire produced 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds, i.e, 11 megawatts of power. This amount is more than double what was achieved in similar tests in 1997.
The experiment, which consumed more energy to create the fusion reaction than the energy released by it, reportedly validates design choices that have been made for an even bigger fusion reactor now being constructed in France. But a sustained fusion event of this kind is a major success, European media outlets reported.
A consortium of world governments, including from European Union member states, the United States, China and Russia, supports the ITER facility in southern France.
European scientists recently claimed to have made a major breakthrough in practical nuclear fusion. Experiments conducted at the UK-based Joint European Torus (JET) laboratory in Oxfordshire produced 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds, i.e, 11 megawatts of power. This amount is more than double what was achieved in similar tests in 1997.
The JET lab has been pioneering this fusion approach for nearly 40 years. And for the past 10 years, it has been configured to replicate the anticipated ITER set-up.
Nuclear fusion works on the principle that energy can be released by forcing together atomic nuclei rather than by splitting them (fission). It is the process that powers the stars. Operating future power plants based on fusion would produce no greenhouse gases and only small amounts of short-lived radioactive waste.
Ultimately, the process would be used to drive steam turbines to generate electricity.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
[ad_2]
Source link
