Nuclear mergers unlimited energy

1986/08/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Energia

In the opinion of many, nuclear fusion can offer us as much energy as we want in the future. This is today a utopia because a controlled nuclear fusion has not been achieved. However, eleven groups of researchers are trying to achieve this goal worldwide.

Last December, American "Sandia National Laboratories" has taken an important step towards fusion energy. The breakthrough has been a success in igniting the world's most powerful particle accelerator known by acronym PBFA-II. The accelerator sends a beam of ions to a diode in a very short time (50 millifamilies of a second). The diode is located in the test hole seen in the image.

It turned on with a capacity of 70%. The PBFA-II is designed to emit 100 billion Watts, that is, more than all the instantaneous power of all power plants on Earth.

The ion beam produced by the accelerator after further development will be a pea-sized deuterium and a tritium fuel pickup. According to Watermelon scientists, the enormous power of the beam will compress 1000 times the fuel and heat up to 100 million degrees Celsius. This will produce an ignition, that is, a small and controlled thermonuclear explosion. Finally, this session would develop the fusion reactor.

The drawing warns us of the enormous size of PBFA-II. This device is shaped as a 33 m diameter wheel. The wheel is divided into 36 modules, each with capacitors and other electrical appliances. Each module is connected to the central gap. In the center of the hole there is a vacuum chamber in which the deuterium and the tritium fuel are placed. Once the PBFA-II is switched on, the 36 modules simultaneously supply power to the vacuum chamber. Oil and water are used as a refrigerant, each with its special tanks. If these tanks are emptied, 2213 Olympic pools could be filled.