It has long been an elusive dream for scientists seeking to solve the world’s energy problems.
But while nuclear fusion offers an environmentally friendly way of producing power, attempts to harness it have so far stumbled This is because causing hydrogen isotope atoms to collide and fuse together to produce helium – the same way as the Sun creates energy – produces an enormous amount of waste heat.
But now scientists have found a way of dealing with these exhaust gases, cooling them from an extraordinary 150million Celsius to just a few hundred degrees, temperatures similar to that of a car engine.
This drastically reduces the wear and tear on the reactor in which the fusion occurs. And that means that nuclear fusion reactors could soon be viable.
Getting closer?
But while nuclear fusion offers an environmentally friendly way of producing power, attempts to harness it have so far stumbled This is because causing hydrogen isotope atoms to collide and fuse together to produce helium – the same way as the Sun creates energy – produces an enormous amount of waste heat.
But now scientists have found a way of dealing with these exhaust gases, cooling them from an extraordinary 150million Celsius to just a few hundred degrees, temperatures similar to that of a car engine.
This drastically reduces the wear and tear on the reactor in which the fusion occurs. And that means that nuclear fusion reactors could soon be viable.
Getting closer?
