2021-04-15

Nuclear fusion power has been developing for decades. There is different technology are trying to control the nuclear fusion so that can generate power from nuclear fusion energy. One of the technology is called Inertial confinement fusion. The concept is the create a clean and mini and hydrogen bomb to heat up a huge water tank to generate steam and push the steam turbine. In order to create a clean and mini hydrogen bomb, the trigger cannot be from the energy of nuclear fission. It is using a high-energy laser to heat up the Hohlraum, which absorbs energy from the source laser and emits the x-ray to the nuclear fusion fuel capsule evenly. NIF (National ignition facility) is the most successful facility of research in this area. It is successful to ignite the fusion fuel. Although it claims it successfully gains energy, it is way too far from being able to continually generate power using this method. NIF is using their own definition of gain energy, which is not truly gain energy. Another technology is called Magnetic confinement fusion. It is using a magnetic field to control the plasma so that that can continually conduct a fusion reaction. The magnet field can heat up the fusion fuel and prevent it from leakage. There is 2 type of devices, stellarator, and tokamak. They are using different magnetic field arrangements. One of the biggest stellarators is Wendelstein 7-X in Germany. It has achieved 0.2s confinement time. There are multiple tokamaks is operating. JET (Joint European Torus) achieved a world record of Fusion energy gain factor Q=0.67. The world's biggest tokamak is under construction which is ITER. This will be a target to operate in 2025. Its target is to achieve gain factor Q=10 and then continually burning fusion fuel. This will be the most possible research facility to learn fusion power.