What is the difference between Nuclear fusion power generation and conventional nuclear power? In 2028, China may realize Nuclear fusion power generation

Tech 2023-07-16 13:39:57 Source: Network

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Recently, the South China Morning Post reported a piece of news that attracted widespread attention from netizens both domestically and internationally.It is reported that Peng Xianjue, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, announced that China plans to realize Nuclear fusion power generation by 2028.This news shocked people, because Academician Peng Xianjue is a famous expert in Nuclear physics in China and has participated in the design of China's first and second generation nuclear weapons. His comments cannot be ignored.

However, it should be noted that,Nuclear fusion technology has always been the goal of the global scientific community, but it has not yet achieved commercial application.Nuclear fusion is a way of generating energy, which releases huge energy by aggregating light elements into heavier ones. If China can successfully master Nuclear fusion technology and realize Nuclear fusion power generation in 2028, it will undoubtedly be a breakthrough of great significance.

As a clean and efficient form of energy, Nuclear fusion has great potential. Many netizens even bluntly stated that mastering this technology would enable them to dominate the Earth?

What is Nuclear fusion? Why does it have such a significant impact?

Nuclear fusion and Nuclear fission

In recent years, countries have been searching for a sustainable clean energy source to replace heavily polluting fossil fuels. For example, Geothermal energy and other energy sources have certain restrictions, so people have their ideas on nuclear energy.

There are currently two ways to utilize nuclear energy:Nuclear fission and Nuclear fusion are two different Nuclear reaction processes.In the process of Nuclear fission, a heavy atomic nucleus (such as U-235 or Plutonium-239) absorbs a neutron, making the atomic nucleus unstable. Subsequently, the atomic nucleus will split into two lighter nuclei, releasing two to three neutrons and a large amount of energy. These neutrons can continue to trigger other Nuclear fission reactions, forming a chain reaction.

Nuclear fission isThe basic principles used for nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons.In nuclear weapons, the rapid release of a large amount of energy can result in enormous explosive power. In nuclear power plants, by controlling the rate of Nuclear fission reaction, enough heat can be generated to convert water into steam and drive the turbine generator to generate electricity. However, the reaction process of Nuclear fission will produce high Radioactive waste, which needs long-term safe storage and treatment.

Nuclear fusion isThe process of aggregating light elemental nuclei (such as hydrogen, deuterium, tritium, etc.) into heavier nuclei.DTNuclear fusion is

The main difference between the two Nuclear reaction is that,Nuclear fission isNuclear fusion isIn addition, Nuclear fission needs to use heavy nuclei as fuel, while Nuclear fusion needs to use light nuclei as fuel. In terms of energy release, both Nuclear fission and Nuclear fusion can release a lot of energy, but Nuclear fusion has a higher energy density and can generate more energy, which is an ideal clean energy. However, achieving Nuclear fusion is not easy.

The technical challenge ahead

Nuclear fusion needsHeat light elements such as hydrogen to extremely high temperatures (tens of millions of degrees Celsius), turning them into plasma and maintaining sufficient density and stability to ensure that the reaction can continue.However, high-temperature plasma is very unstable and easily disturbed by factors such as heat flux and magnetic field. The interaction between high-temperature plasma and the reactor wall can lead to energy loss and wall wear of the plasma, which can lead to instability of the reaction and a decrease in equipment life. Therefore, controlling the stability of the plasma is a significant challenge.

At present, a magnetic field with a closed magnetic field line (as charged particles can only move along the magnetic field line) is the most likely choice to achieve control. Since the late 1940s, various countries have successively developed various magnetic cage approaches, with an annual investment of no less than $1 billion. The competition is very fierce, but there has been no substantial progress in the past few decades.It was not until the 1970s that Soviet scientists produced the "Tokamak" device.

Tokamak isAt present, it is one of the most successful Nuclear fusion experimental devices.Its basic structure is a circular vacuum chamber, which contains light elemental fuels such as hydrogen, as well as heaters and magnetic field devices required to generate high-temperature plasma. becauseTokamak device needs Nuclear fusion reaction in vacuum environment to avoid interference of gas molecules and energy loss.So itThere is a vacuum chamber, usually designed in a circular shape, with reflective materials coated inside to reduce energy loss.

The Tokamak device heats light elements such as hydrogen to tens of millions of degrees through a heater to form plasma. subsequentlyUtilize the interaction between magnetic field and plasma to control parameters such as plasma position, density, and temperature.In the Tokamak device, the plasma will form a stable ring state in the magnetic field, which is called the "Tokamak state". When the plasma reaches high enough temperature and density, light elements such as hydrogen will undergo Nuclear fusion reaction and generate a lot of energy. This energy can be used to generate steam, drive a turbine generator, and generate electricity.

It looks easy to implement, doesn't it? Actually, it's not the case.To be put into practical use, it is necessary to make the energy of the input device much smaller than the energy of the output, which is called the energy gain factor - Q value.And this Q value has not broken through 1 for decades. It was not until 1997 that Japan adopted the deuterium deuterium reaction that the Q value broke through 1 and reached 1.25, which proved that Tokamak could actually produce energy theoretically. Countries have successively increased investment in the field, but the current Tokamak device is far from industrial application. According to the existing technology, the cost of a Tokamak device is hundreds of billions of dollars, which is unacceptable.

So it seems that there is still a long way to go to achieve Fusion power. Why do Chinese academicians say that we are about to achieve it?

Fusion fission

Academician Peng Xianjue's research is not purely fusion technology, but fusion fission technologyThe fast neutrons of micro fusion reaction are used to bombard Natural uranium, thorium and other low Radioactive element, thus triggering fission reaction, which is then used for power generation.Therefore, although there is some flavor of the title party, it is still a very important technological breakthrough.

Academician Peng Xianjue adoptedZ-pinch technology (Z-FFR), which first carries out micro fusion reaction, and then triggers fission reaction to produce controllable Nuclear reaction.If there are problems during the reaction process, simply cutting off the high pressure and high temperature of fusion can terminate the entire mixed reaction, thus avoiding accidents such as Fukushima and Chernobyl. In addition, since Natural uranium, thorium and other low Radioactive element are used as fuel, the nuclear waste generated will be far less than the pure Nuclear fission reaction, and it will be easier to deal with.

Although Academician Peng Xianjue's research focuses on fusion fission technology, the breakthrough in this technology still holds great significance.Fusion fission technology can use high-energy neutrons generated by fusion reactions to trigger fission reactions, thereby achieving the goal of generating electricity.Compared with the traditional Nuclear fission technology, fusion fission technology can use safer fuel, produce less nuclear waste, and is simpler to handle. The development of this technology is of great significance for future energy supply and environmental protection.

10%Fusion fission

ITER project

In 2005, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Project (ITER) was officially determined to build the world's first experimental fusion reactor based on the super Tokamak device.The so-called super Tokamak device is to replace the coil of the traditional Tokamak device with a superconductor to solve the problem of large current and loss.At present, China, Japan, France and Russia all have their own large-scale super Tokamak devices, but only EAST in China can provide experimental data for ITER, because its structure and applied technology are exactly the same as those of ITER in the planning, and its performance and technology are far superior to those of other three countries.

On April 12, 2023, the EAST device in Hefei, China, set a new world record and successfully achieved 403 seconds of stable high confinement mode plasma operation, which means that we are closer to truly controlling Fusion power.Once Nuclear fusion technology succeeds, it will give birth to a new energy revolution. Humans can not only use it as energy to benefit all humanity, but also as spacecraft energy to truly solve energy problems in space.It can be imagined that in the future, we can establish an ecosystem in space and usher in the vast era of cosmic colonization, with the stars and oceans within reach!

Fusion fission

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