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Another Way to Fuse Nuclei for Electricity Generation
오진우 강남포스트 학생기자 | 승인 2023.05.03 13:55

The researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced that they succeeded in nuclear fusion using lasers, a different approach from the traditional tokamak method. Tokamak uses plasma, which is required for nuclear fusion, and keeps it hot by suspending it in the air. 

However, the laser method concentrates many lasers in one place to create heat. Many research facilities, including the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), have adopted the tokamak method. However, despite the success of laser nuclear fusion, many experts argue that the tokamak method is more viable for commercialization for electricity generation. It is because the laser nuclear fusion method is not considered sufficient for commercialization due to the amount of energy required compared to the energy generated. 

To be commercialized, it is necessary to maintain high temperatures for nuclear fusion, as well as input energy required to reach that temperature and good energy efficiency compared to the energy input. Therefore, laser nuclear fusion is considered difficult to commercialize because it requires too much energy to reach and maintain high temperatures.

Nuclear fusion is a different approach from nuclear fission, which is currently used in nuclear power plants. Nuclear fission splits atomic nuclei of elements such as uranium and plutonium in unstable states to generate energy. The mass before and after the fission of those is different. 

According to Einstein's theory of E=mc², a tremendous amount of energy is produced from the lost mass. However, nuclear fission has a fatal flaw, which is the nuclear waste left over after the fission. Radioactive materials that are released from the waste can be deadly to humans. However, nuclear fusion produces much more energy than nuclear fission, and the radiation produced from fusion is much safer and easier to manage. 

For these reasons, it is considered the energy of the future and a dream energy source.

 

 

 

 

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