SP’s: MIT recorded a confined two-second nuclear blast at its Plasma Science and Fusion Center facility and an eerie shriek of atoms can be heard during the reaction.
Well, the need of the hour is a fuel that doesn’t contribute to the already serious issue of climate change and nuclear fuels with other renewable sources seem the best alternatives to coal.
Fusion is quite an interesting phenomenon. Temperature over millions of degrees and atoms smashing into each other at high speeds inside a plasma chamber, thus, producing a chain reaction to yield a sustainable source of energy for humans. So what happens inside the chambers at about 15 million centigrade?
Sure, there are hydrogen atoms (Deuterium and Tritium) inside an isolated chamber that is heated to extreme temperatures so as to force the atoms to attain kinetic energy high enough so as when they collide with each other they could overcome the electrical repulsion of mutual nuclei and fuse to form an inert Helium gas.
As a result, a huge amount of energy is released in the process which is used to make electricity. Easy to say though, the technology has not yet been refined to make it feasible. However, there have been a few major breakthroughs in this aspect.
Apart from this process, something else happens as well. Atoms exposed to high temperatures shriek in the same way as you would when made to sit on a hot metal bucket.
Also See: Is Humanity Ready To Become Multi-Planetary Species?
MIT recently gave Tech Insider a tour to its nuclear reactor at MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Cambridge. The institute has a test plasma fusion reactor, Alcator C-Mod which uses powerful magnets to confine hot plasma inside the hollow chamber. The chamber is tightly sealed and has a little window for over-enthusiastic people.
Through the window can be seen a two-second blast fusion, as recorded by the physicist Theodore Golfinopoulos at MIT. The video shows a red-orange glowing blast with a high decibel shriek. Watch the video below.
Intense research in facilities across the world is being carried out for energy generation through nuclear fusion as it would mark the beginning of the most significant epoch in the history of mankind after the industrial revolution.
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