Latest news with #CentralSolenoid
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New nuclear fusion reactor's electromagnet could lift 10 monster trucks
The world's largest and most powerful superconducting electromagnet is ready to become the pulsing 'heart' inside of a massive tokamak nuclear fusion reactor. Developed over 40 years in collaboration with over 30 countries, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility in southern France aims to finally demonstrate nuclear fusion's potential as a commercially viable energy source. But in order to do that, ITER requires a six module Central Solenoid magnet system that weighs nearly 3,000 tons. Once assembled, the installation will be strong enough to lift a 112,000-pound aircraft carrier, or about 10 monster trucks. An acronym of the Russian-language designation of 'toroidal chamber with magnetic coils,' a tokamak is a donut-shaped fusion reactor that relies on pulsed magnetic charges to ionize only a few grams' worth of deuterium and tritium hydrogen gas fuel. The ionized plasma is then confined by an 'invisible cage' of magnetic energy while external heating systems increase plasma temperature to over 270,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit—or hotter than the sun's core. At that point, the plasma's atomic nuclei begin to combine (hence 'nuclear fusion'), in the process releasing unprecedented amounts of heat that can then hypothetically be used to provide limitless, clean energy to the masses. ITER engineers expect their tokamak reactor to generate 500 megawatts (Mw) of fusion power using just 50 Mw of input heating–compared with a nuclear fission reactor's roughly 1,000 Mw of power output from an input of 3000 Mw . This will enable ongoing fusion to become a mostly self-heating burning plasma. All that immense energy will be contained using the Central Solenoid's magnetic forces. 'It is like the bottle in a bottle of wine: of course the wine is maybe more important than the bottle, but you need the bottle in order to put the wine inside,' ITER director general Pietro Barabaschi recently explained to Reuters. ITER has been plagued with delays for years thanks to a combination of logistical challenges, shifting geopolitical landscapes, and financial burdens. Now that the final Central Solenoid module is complete, all that's left is to finish installing the reactor's components and ready the facility for testing—but even that will take time. ITER's start-up phase for generating plasma likely won't take place until at least 2033. Even so, Barabaschi remains hopeful about the tokamak reactor's potential, as well as what it represents on a global scale. 'This achievement proves that when humanity faces existential challenges like climate change and energy security, we can overcome national differences to advance solutions,' he said in a statement. 'The ITER Project is the embodiment of hope. With ITER, we show that a sustainable energy future and a peaceful path forward are possible.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The Beating Heart of the World's Biggest Fusion Reactor is Finally Complete
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is decades in the making, and is humanity's leading effort to harness the energy that powers the Sun. ITER announced this week that the Central Solenoid—the world's most powerful magnet and beating heart of the tokamak—is finally complete, and will begin assembly soon. ITER's first plasma is expected sometime in 2035, so we still have a decade of waiting before we can (hopefully) glimpse the future of green energy. The typical tagline you'll often hear about fusion energy is the idea that scientists are trying to 'bottle the Sun.' While technically correct—humanity is attempting to harness the power of the Sun's proton-proton fusion chain reaction using isotopes of hydrogen—tokamaks like the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) are more an exercise in extreme engineering. ITER is a decades-long effort involving 35 countries, and the stats of the machine highlight the cooperation and expertise of that talent pool. When completer, ITER will be able to withstand temperatures 10 times hotter than the core of the Sun (150 million degrees Celsius) while also keeping certain components of itself near absolute zero (-273.15 degrees Celsius). At the heart of this engineering miracle is a 3,000-ton magnet system central to creating an 'invisible shield' that keeps superheated plasma contained long enough to kickstart a fusion reaction. On Wednesday, the ITER team announced that the last piece of this magnetic puzzle—the Central Solenoid—has been built and tested in the U.S. and is now ready for assembly at the ITER facility in France. Once assembled, this solenoid will be the world's most powerful magnet. The magnet is so powerful, in fact, that it's capable of completely levitating an aircraft carrier, according to an ITER press release. It will be contained inside an 'exoskeleton'—made of 9,000 individual parts from eight U.S. suppliers—which will support the Central Solenoid as it generates extreme forces capable of kickstarting a fusion reaction. Although ITER is fundamentally different from our Sun (of course), it does work in a somewhat similar fashion. The Sun uses a 'too big to fail' fusion regime—its transparent mass (330,000 times more than that of the Earth) is enough to fuse hydrogen nuclei into helium. On Earth, however, scientists need to compensate for this lack of mass with even more heat. At a certain temperature threshold, deuterium, and tritium—isotopes of hydrogen that will be used as fuel in ITER—overcome electromagnetic repulsion via quantum tunneling and fuse. Some quick calculations using everyone's favorite equation e=mc2 show that converting a little mass can give you tons of energy. ITER's 10,000 tons worth of superconducting magnets (with a combined energy of 51 gigajoules) will maintain the plasma for long enough at high enough temperatures for this fusion reaction to take place. By the scientists' estimates, ITER should produce 500 megawatts of power for only 50 megawatts of input heating power—a 10 fold increase. However, that's still a long ways off, as recent ITER estimates place the reactor's first plasma date at around 2035. But once this gargantuan machine of human ingenuity is completely, we will have truly bottled a star—or, at least, a close approximation of it. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
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Business Standard
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
India helps world's largest nuclear fusion project cross key milestone
In a major boost for clean energy, the world's biggest nuclear fusion project has completed its central magnet system, with India playing a critical role in building several key components, a PTI report said on Wednesday. The ITER project, underway in southern France, aims to replicate the energy of the sun by fusing hydrogen atoms to generate carbon-free power. Unlike traditional nuclear power which uses fission, nuclear fusion creates no long-term radioactive waste. The final module of ITER's Central Solenoid, the powerful magnet that drives the fusion reaction, was recently built in the US and will soon be installed. Once operational, it will be strong enough to lift an aircraft carrier and will form the heart of the Tokamak, ITER's doughnut-shaped reactor. ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is a collaboration between more than 30 countries including India, the US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and EU nations. It is designed to produce 500 megawatts of power from just 50 megawatts of input, creating a self-sustaining state known as 'burning plasma' that is the ultimate goal of fusion research. 'What makes ITER unique is not only its technical complexity but the framework of international cooperation that has sustained it through changing political landscapes,' ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi was quoted as saying. 'The ITER Project is the embodiment of hope. With ITER, we show that a sustainable energy future and a peaceful path forward are possible,' he added. Next steps for nuclear fusion Earlier this year, ITER successfully installed the first part of its vacuum vessel. The rest of the machine is being assembled piece by piece. Though ITER won't produce electricity, it will prove that fusion works at scale and lay the groundwork for commercial fusion plants. Private companies are also now investing in fusion, and ITER has launched programmes to share research and accelerate progress. Funding and fair access As a host, Europe is covering 45 per cent of the project's costs. The other six partners, including India, each contribute around 9 per cent. All members will share full access to data, technology and patents developed from the project.
