Experts say 2018 is too soon
Scientists assessing the difficulties related to the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility in southern France have recently revealed that it may be unfeasible to fire up the reactor as soon as 2018, as current plans have it. The multi-billion-euro nuclear fusion test reactor was supposed to come online as fast as possible, so that experts could begin their research into the mysteries and issues surrounding this type of energy production at that point.
Representatives of the European Union met between November 18-19 in St Paul-lez-Durance, a town not far from the place where ITER is scheduled to be built. Delegates from the EU told the representatives of the other six countries involved in the project that the originally planned start date was no longer realistic, but declined to comment on the reason afterwords. European officials were, however, careful to point out that the reactor still enjoyed the full support of the Union, Nature News reports.
“Our guiding objective is to ensure a sustainable success for ITER at reasonable costs and with an acceptable level of risk,” Catherine Ray explained, quoted by Nature News. She is a spokesperson on science and research for the European Commission, based in Brussels. The stakes are terribly high in this endeavor. In addition to the large costs implied, the project could yield massive benefits for humankind, by providing us with a means of producing massive levels of energy without any of the harmful side-effects that greenhouse gases currently have on our planet.
Fusion is theoretically attainable through the merging of deuterium and tritium, which are both heavy isotopes of hydrogen. Their nuclei would merge, and an impressive amount of electricity would be produced, in addition to the useful chemical element helium. The thing is that the reaction can only take place at temperatures close to the ones inside stars, or around 150 million degrees Celsius. China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States will each provide nine percent of the construction costs, with the other 45 percent coming directly from the European Union.
By the time the reactor is built, it's estimated that its costs will be more than double the originally planned ones, of US$7.4 billion. This would make ITER one of the most expensive scientific undertakings ever, and for just reasons. A success here would mean a cleaner future for us, and for our children.
Fusion is the atomic process that takes place in our Sun. Unlike Fission Reactors we use today, Fusion Power will be cleaner because there is little lasting radiation and little nuclear waste to dispose of, comparatively speaking. In addition, turning off the reaction is like turning off a gas stove (no rods).
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