Burning plasma
In
The Sun
In the Sun and other similar stars, those fusion reactions involve hydrogen ions. The high temperatures needed to sustain fusion reactions are maintained by a self-heating process in which energy from the fusion reaction heats the thermal plasma ions via particle collisions. A plasma enters what scientists call the burning plasma regime when the self-heating power exceeds any external heating.[1]
The Sun is a burning plasma that has reached fusion ignition, meaning the Sun's plasma temperature is maintained solely by energy released from fusion. The Sun has been burning hydrogen for 4.5 billion years and is about halfway through its life cycle.[1]
Thermonuclear weapons
Thermonuclear weapons, also known as hydrogen bombs, are
The National Ignition Facility
It was announced in 2022 that a burning plasma had been achieved at the National Ignition Facility, a large laser-based inertial confinement fusion research device, located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California.[3] The burning plasma created was sustained for approximately 100 trillionths of a second, and the process consumed more energy than it created by a factor of approximately ten. NIF achieved ignition on December 5, 2022, net energy release from a burning plasma fusion reaction.[5][6]
Tokamaks
Multiple
ITER, being built near Cadarache in France, has the stated goal of allowing fusion scientists and engineers to investigate the physics, engineering, and technologies associated with a self-heating plasma. Issues to be explored include understanding and controlling a strongly coupled, self-organized plasma; management of heat and particles that reach plasma-facing surfaces; demonstration of fuel breeding technology; and the physics of energetic particles. These issues are relevant to ITER's broader goal of using self-heating plasma reactions to become the first fusion energy device that produces more power than it consumes, a major step toward commercial fusion power production.[1] To reach fusion-relevant temperatures, the ITER tokamak will heat plasmas using three methods: ohmic heating (running electric current through the plasma), neutral particle beam injection, and high-frequency electromagnetic radiation.[1]
Symbolic implications
The NIF burning plasma, despite not occurring in an energy context, has been characterised as a major milestone in the race towards nuclear
References
- ^ a b c d e This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "DOE Explains...Burning Plasma". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "brplasma". www.ipp.mpg.de. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ PMID 35082418.
- ^ Sublette, Carey (3 July 2007). "Nuclear Weapons FAQ Section 4.4.1.4 The Teller–Ulam Design". Nuclear Weapons FAQ. Retrieved 17 July 2011. "So far as is known all high yield nuclear weapons today (>50 kt or so) use this design."
- . Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- S2CID 254663644,
The shot at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on 5 December is the first-ever controlled fusion reaction to produce an energy gain.
- ^ ISSN 0022-3778.
- ISBN 9780761927334, retrieved 2022-04-28
- ^ "National Ignition Facility's laser-fusion milestone ignites debate". Physics World. 2022-09-18. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- hdl:10044/1/99300.
- ^ Clark, Lindsay. "Burning plasma a step forward in the race for nuclear fusion". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- S2CID 235552703.
- ISSN 1082-7307.
- ISBN 978-1-003-16020-5, retrieved 2023-09-11