How does ITER fusion work?

How does ITER fusion work?

ITER is designed to produce a ten-fold return on energy (Q=10), or 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of input heating power. ITER will not capture the energy it produces as electricity, but—as first of all fusion experiments in history to produce net energy gain—it will prepare the way for the machine that can.

Who is building ITER?

ITER is funded and run by seven member parties: China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

How big is the ITER fusion reactor?

Weighing 23 000 tonnes and standing at nearly 30 metres tall, ITER will be an impressive sight to behold. This nuclear fusion reactor will sit at the heart of a 180-hectare site, together with auxiliary housing and equipment.

What will ITER fuse?

In June, JET will begin fusing even quantities of tritium and deuterium, another isotope of hydrogen. It is this fuel mix that ITER will use in its attempt to create more power from a fusion reaction than is put in — something that has never before been demonstrated.

Why is ITER taking so long?

Why is the ITER Tokamak project taking so long to produce results? (Wiki: "Initial plasma experiments are scheduled to begin in 2025, with full deuterium-tritium fusion experiments starting in 2035.") Because building something to even approximately replicate the temperatures and pressures at the core of a sun is HARD.

What is the purpose of ITER?

It is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject. This will be the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment. The goal of ITER is to establish technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use, and to strengthen the global nuclear fusion industry.

Is the UK still a member of ITER?

Fusion for Energy and ITER The UK will remain a member of Fusion for Energy. UK companies can continue to bid for ITER contracts tendered by both Fusion for Energy and the ITER organisation. UK researchers and staff can continue working at ITER from 1 January 2021.

Why is ITER in France?

In addition to contributing to the ITER Project as a member of the European Union, France has made and honoured a number of specific commitments. France has provided the site for the project and carried out preparatory works including clearing and levelling, fencing, and networks for water and electricity.

What fuel will ITER use?

ITER and future devices will use the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium to fuel the fusion reaction. Deuterium can be distilled from all forms of water. It is a widely available, harmless, and virtually inexhaustible resource.

Can ITER explode?

During operation, the ITER Tokamak chamber will contain only a tiny amount, less than one tenth of a gram, of hydrogen fuel at any given moment. If disruption occurs during a pulse, the reaction cools and ends. "A nuclear explosion in ITER is simply not possible," says Loughlin.

What is ITER and how does it work?

• Fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the Sun and the stars, is a potential source of safe, non-carbon emitting and virtually limitless energy. Harnessing fusion's power is the goal of ITER, which has been designed as the key experimental step between today's fusion research machines and tomorrow's fusion power plants.

What fuel will be used for nuclear fusion at ITER?

• Nuclear fusion has many potential attractions. The fuel is relatively abundant or can be produced in a fusion reactor. After preliminary tests with deuterium, ITER will use a mix of deuterium-tritium for its fusion because of the combination's high energy potential.

How long does it take to build an ITER reactor?

• The reactor was expected to take 10 years to build and ITER had planned to test its first plasma in 2020 and achieve full fusion by 2023, however the schedule is now to test first plasma in 2025 and full fusion in 2035.

Who are the members of ITER?

• ITER Members China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States have entered into a 35-year collaboration to build and operate the ITER device. A two-decade research program is planned during which the Members will share in the experimental results and in any generated intellectual property.