Jan Beranek of Greenpeace quoted; “There is always a risk that either the technology or the nuclear materials can fall into the wrong hands”, on the new energy alternative called nuclear fusion which uses water and/or its isotopes as fuel and convert it to an extravagant amount of energy and in turn, power. Wikipedia defines; Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or “fuse”, to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy. Fusion is the process that powers active stars, the H-bomb and experimental devices examining fusion power for electrical generation.Is this possible? Yes, according to the classics, when the process is performed in the sun, and that was long before Tokamak. Tokamak is a device which uses a magnetic field to confine a plasma in the shape of a torus (doughnut). The plasma is then allowed to move inside the torus, through an aid of a magnetic field, in a toroidal and/or poloidal direction and then induced by a strong magnetic compression. This starts the fusion and then a large quantity of energy is produced.
Perhaps, Tokamak is used by the ongoing ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project that will conduct study on nuclear fusion and the viability of the process as a potential energy alternative. ITER construction by the way started on 2007 and is expected to be fully complete by 2019, situated in Cadarache France. The project’s members are the European Union (EU), India, Japan, People’s Republic of China, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The EU, as host party for ITER, will contribute 45% of the cost, with the other parties contributing 9% each.
Question is, “would nuclear fusion be a viable and a sustainable source of energy”? The answer is up for you or it will depend on the the experiment’s result. But for me, it really depends, as what Jan Beranek believes – there is always a risk.
And yes, there is no safe place, only best practice.
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