Artificial Sun, 2024

Artificial Sun

Scientists and engineers have long tried to mimic the sun’s amazing power in the search for sustainable energy sources. In this quest, one of the most intriguing ideas is the idea of an “artificial sun.” A tokamak, sometimes referred to as an artificial sun,

An Artificial Sun is a device that uses the same fusion processes as our sun to provide clean, abundant energy on Earth.

The idea of an artificial sun is essentially to replicate the circumstances that exist in the core of the sun, where hydrogen atoms combine to make helium and release enormous amounts of energy. Achieving controlled nuclear fusion on Earth has proven to be an enormous scientific challenge that calls for sophisticated engineering and cutting-edge technologies.

An international collaboration including several nations, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is one of the most prominent initiatives in this sector. In order to open the door for later commercial fusion reactors, ITER seeks to prove that fusion electricity is feasible on a large scale.

Why does artificial sun require?

The creation of an artificial sun has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental effects of conventional energy sources while meeting the world’s energy needs. There is promise for a more sustainable and affluent society as fusion technology continues to improve, potentially realising the goal of an endless, clean energy future powered by artificial suns.

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How does an artificial sun work?

Nuclear fusion is the method by which an artificial sun, sometimes called a tokamak or fusion reactor, generates energy from nuclear fusion. Fundamentally, light atomic nuclei—usually hydrogen isotopes—are fused together to generate heavier elements and unleash enormous amounts of energy.

Controlled nuclear fusion on Earth is most commonly accomplished by enclosing a superheated plasma of hydrogen isotopes in a magnetic field. The electrostatic opposition between nuclei must be overcome, and fusion reactions must be facilitated by heating this plasma, which is simply a gas of charged particles, to temperatures over millions of degrees Celsius.

The normal operation of an artificial sun is as follows:

Plasma Generation: A vacuum chamber is filled with hydrogen isotopes, such as tritium and deuterium. Powerful lasers or particle beams are examples of high-energy sources that are used to ionise gaseous materials in order to produce charged particle plasma.

Confinement: Strong magnetic fields are produced using superconducting coils to keep the plasma from making contact with the chamber walls. The plasma is contained by these magnetic fields inside a doughnut-shaped torus, keeping it from cooling down and coming into contact with the walls.

Heating: The plasma is heated to the high temperatures needed for fusion using a variety of techniques. An approach that is frequently used is raising the temperature of the plasma by adding more heating devices, including radiofrequency waves or neutral beam injection.

Fusion reactions: These happen when the plasma reaches the necessary density and temperature. A collision and fusion of deuterium and tritium nuclei produce helium nuclei and high-energy neutrons. Significant energy is released during this process, and this energy can be used to produce electricity.

Energy Extraction: High-energy neutrons are produced as a result of fusion reactions, which release energy. These neutrons convey their energy to nearby materials, such as a layer of lithium, which absorbs them and releases heat in the process. After that, this heat is converted to steam, which powers turbines to produce electricity—much like in conventional power plants.

Despite tremendous advancements in the field, maintaining the high pressures and temperatures necessary for fusion, as well as controlling the extreme heat and radiation generated during the process, are still difficult tasks.

The goal of capturing solar energy on Earth is becoming closer with continued study and developments in fusion technology, which could provide an endless and clean energy source in the future.

Compare the artificial sun of China with that of South Korea.

A nuclear fusion reactor that replicates the sun’s energy-generating mechanism is called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in China. The highest temperature recorded in the East in 2021 was 288 million degrees Fahrenheit, more than 10 times hotter than the sun.

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) reactor in South Korea is an additional artificial solar project. KSTAR achieved a record in 2020 when it sustained a plasma temperature of more than 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.

The EAST in China and the KSTAR in South Korea concentrate on several facets of plasma:

Electron plasma temperature is the main focus of EAST. where the central ion plasma temperature is the main focus of KSTAR.

China’s EAST is a component of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which, when completed in 2035, will be the largest nuclear fusion reactor in the world.

What are the benefits of an artificial sun?

A promising technology that has the potential to produce clean, limitless, and affordable energy is nuclear fusion, commonly referred to as an artificial sun. The energy source is the same as the star closest to us.

The following are a few advantages of an artificial sun:

Pure and secure: Nuclear fusion emits no hazardous carbon dioxide and is safe and clean. It also doesn’t produce any radioactive waste.
Nuclear fusion has the potential to be a nearly infinite energy source, enabling us to transition away from fossil fuels.
Materials in abundance: The elements required to produce nuclear fusion are widely available on Earth.
Possible means of reducing carbon emissions: carbon emissions and other greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere may be reduced with the use of clean energy sources.