A breakthrough in the field of nuclear fusion

- Discovery-Dr. Vihari shadow

- If we can control the huge amount of energy generated in the sun and stars on the earth in a controlled way, then the energy problem of mankind will be solved permanently.

On August 6, 2021, nuclear scientists generated large amounts of energy through fusion, using laser beams as large as three football fields, possibly in the hope of developing a new clean energy source. This happened in an experiment at the National Ignition Facility in California. Kim Budill, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which operates the National Ignition Facility, said the result was a "historic breakthrough" in research to generate energy from the process of inertial fusion.

The enormous amounts of energy produced by the sun and stars are the result of thermonuclear processes. In English it is called Fusion. Mankind's energy problem can be solved permanently if we can control the enormous amounts of energy produced by the sun and the stars on Earth. This thermonuclear process involves the fusion of the nucleus of an atom. The navels rhythm with each other. The nuclei of the lighter hydrogen atoms come together and merge to form the nucleus of the helium atom. Simultaneously energy is generated.

A similar process occurs in hydrogen bombs. These nuclear bombs, known as atom bombs, can be controlled and used peacefully to generate electrical energy, but this has not yet been possible. This process is not just a nuclear process but a thermonuclear process. The word 'thermo' refers to heat. Here the process of fusion begins only when the nuclei of hydrogen gas (or its type) atoms collide with each other at tremendous speeds and the temperature of the hydrogen gas atomic temperature exceeds one million degrees Celsius.

How to produce such a high temperature in a laboratory? In which container should hydrogen gas be stored at such a high temperature? At such a high temperature, any metal or substance can evaporate. At such a high temperature, only hydrogen atoms break down and are largely converted into electrical particles (ionomas). Such hydrogen gas is also not called gas. At that time it was called plasma. Plasma is the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid, gas. If hydrogen in the form of plasma can withstand such high temperatures, sufficient fusion can take place and energy can be produced in a controlled manner. Despite the tireless efforts of scientists, it has not been possible to produce fusion electrical energy commercially.

On the other hand, conventional energy sources are declining. Organic sources (fossil fuels) such as oil, mineral gas and coal are declining. Unconventional sources such as solar energy, wind energy, biomass, etc. have their limits. Fashion energy also has limits. Under these circumstances, the world has turned its back on the use of fusion energy. Hydrogen is inexhaustible in the waters of our oceans. One gram of coal burns in the air and produces 3,000 joules of energy. Against this one gram of hydrogen can give 200,000,000,000 energy. Moreover, this energy is quite safe and does not cause pollution. It can generate low carbon electricity, with very little waste. It also comes without the fear of an explosion.

To draw energy from the fusion process, many countries have focused their energies on international cooperative efforts. The ITER project involves 7 countries and is currently building a large test reactor in the south of France. The first plasma is planned to be produced in 202. However, this step is extremely difficult to reach to generate energy.

The National Ignition Facility experimented with ‘inertial confinement fusion’ to obtain energy using a powerful laser to heat and compress hydrogen fuel. He succeeded in that.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a type of fusion energy research that attempts to initiate nuclear fusion reactions by heating and compressing a fuel target. Fuels are typically used in the form of pellets (pellets or capsules) that often contain a mixture of deuterium and tritium. The typical fuel palette is about the size of the top of the tank. And it contains about 10 milligrams of fuel.

In this experiment conducted by the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a team of researchers improved the accuracy of the laser this time around and also changed the design of the experiment. They used laser energy on fuel capsules to heat and push the center of our sun evenly. This triggered fusion reactions. The focus was on a very small capsule containing 12 laser beams, deuterium and tritium. The energy they were concentrating on in the previous experiments was eight times higher.

The energy of these laser rays compresses the fuel 100 times the density of lead and heats it to 100 million degrees Celsius - even hotter than the center of the sun. The experiment, conducted on August 8, 2021, yielded 150,000 joules of energy - about 90% of the laser energy was delivered to the fuel capsule. The heat from the laser rays explodes the outer layer from the outside, generating a reaction force against the rest of the target, accelerating it inwards, compressing the fuel.

Once the sun's temperature and pressure are reached, the fuel is converted into plasma. The fusion process begins. Here fusion processes release many particles, including 'alpha' particles, which interact with the surrounding plasma and heat it up. Hot plasma then releases more alpha particles and, therefore, in a self-sustaining reaction પ્રક્રિયા a process known as ignition begins. This type of ignition process was first seen in such experiments in the laboratory.

Of course the energy gained from the fusion process started in this way lasted for a very short time.

Second, the NIF experiment was primarily a physics experiment. But this incredible result means that the dream of getting this fusion energy is close to reality. This experiment has now proven that it is possible to reach ignition in the process of inertial fusion (ICF). This could inspire other laboratories and start-ups around the world to move towards fusion energy production.

Nuclear fusion is considered by some scientists to be a potential energy of the future, especially since it does not produce nuclear waste and does not even produce greenhouse gases.