Nuclear fission became one of the most efficient methods of producing energy in the last century. We learned how to use the power inside of the atomic nucleus. But it is just a begining, what is going to happen when we figure out how to create a nuclear fusion? When two atoms slam together to form a heavier atom a nuclear fusion occurs, which is several times more powerful compared to the nuclear fission, therefore it can be a new dawn for humanity.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t just managed to create a fusion reaction yet. But the researches still going on. For example, China made a scientific breakthrough in the last years with a project called EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak), it is an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, China. It is the first tokamak to employ superconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets. It aims for plasma pulses of up to 1,000 seconds. And about efficiency, researchers at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, home of the world’s most powerful laser, announced on Tuesday that they crossed the critical threshold in their pursuit of fusion power: getting more energy out of the reaction than they put in. So we are getting closer to the dream of independence from the fossil fuels.
It is amazing even just thinking that not being dependant to fossil fuels. We can create energy that can last much more time while not harming the environment. Just burning 1 kg of bituminous coal will produce 2,42 kg of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, 1 kg of coal equivalent corresponds to a value specified as 7,000 kilocalories which is equal to 8kWh of heat energy. While the fusion of hydrogen amount of 1 grams is equivalent to 8.75x103kWh. There is a huge gap of energy when we compare these 2 ways of producing energy.
To conclude, nuclear fusion is definitely the best way to have a better future in the view of energy consumption, it is more clean, better in producing energy and the most important topic, it is surely more sustainable. If we manage to use fusion in routine life, I guess we will see how our lives improves in a near future.