Nuclear Fusion

Michael OlsonMeteo 3100

Atmospheric ChemistryProf. Kevin Perry

Nuclear Fusion

● What is it?● How does it work?● What does it offer?● What advantages does it have?● What is the current state of Nuclear

Research?

What is Nuclear Fusion?

● "Fusion works on the principle that energy can be released by forcing together atomic nuclei" (BBC news)

● H2 + H3 → He4 + n

● This is one of the primary reactions of the sun.

What is needed for Fusion?

● H2 – abundant in oceans

● H3 – from Li – abundant in Earth's crust & in the oceans

● Temperatures > 100 million °C (for a Thermonuclear reaction)

● Sustained reaction to produce substantial energy to increase efficiency

Inside a plasma chamber

http://www.pppl.gov/fusion_basics/pages/fusion_reactions.html

Structure of H2 and H3

http://www.pppl.gov/fusion_basics/pages/fusion_reactions.html

http://www.pppl.gov/fusion_basics/pages/fusion_power_plant.html

How much Energy doesNuclear Fusion offer?

● Estimates say there is enough H2 for 10 trillion Quads of energy

● 1 Quad (quadrillion) = 1015 BTU = 1.055 ExaJoules = 293.07 teraWatt hours

● 10 trillion Quads = 1028 BTU = 1.055*107 yottaJoules = 2930 yottaWatt hours

● Yotta = 1027

● In 1998, the U.S. Consumed 94.27 Quads● Enough energy for 1*1011 years

Other Advantages to Fusion

● More rapid decay of nuclear waste (50-100 yrs)

● Only produces 6,000 tons of waste per year (only about 10 m3)

● Amount of energy available

● NO2 & SO2, sources of acid rain, not produced

Daily Fuel ConsumptionDaily Waste Production1,000 MegaWatts

Coal Plant D-T Fusion PlantF

U 9,000 T. CoalE

LW

A

S

TE

1.0 LB D2

3.0 LB Li5

(1.5 LB T2)

30,000 T. CO2

600 T. SO2 4.0 LB He4

80 T. NO2

ITER

● International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Station

● Approved to be built in Cadarache, France● Expected to be built in about a decade● Cost: 4.57 billion euros = $5.53 billion

Cold Fusion

● Dr. Martin Fleischmann, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Utah

● “On the Table” Fusion● Currently being studied for heating

homes● Reaction with H-attracted elements (like

Palladium and Titanium)