How does a tokamak produce energy?

Inside a tokamak, the energy produced through the fusion of atoms is absorbed as heat in the walls of the vessel. Just like a conventional power plant, a fusion power plant will use this heat to produce steam and then electricity by way of turbines and generators. (Scroll down for more about the tokamak.)

How is tokamak used?

tokamak, Device used in nuclear-fusion research for magnetic confinement of plasma. It consists of a complex system of magnetic fields that confine the plasma of reactive charged particles in a hollow, doughnut-shaped container.

Can a tokamak explode?

During operation, the ITER Tokamak chamber will contain only a tiny amount, less than one tenth of a gram, of hydrogen fuel at any given moment. If disruption occurs during a pulse, the reaction cools and ends. “A nuclear explosion in ITER is simply not possible,” says Loughlin.

How does tokamak not melt?

The result is a magnetic field that has a similar shape to the toroidal plasma it is trying to confine and surrounds it on all sides, thereby trapping it. Thus, not only can the material not melt, it needs to have a low enough vapor pressure at high temperatures to avoid contaminating the plasma.

How does a spherical tokamak work?

A spherical tokamak is a type of fusion power device based on the tokamak principle. The spherical tokamak reduces the size of the hole as much as possible, resulting in a plasma shape that is almost spherical, often compared with a cored apple.

What is tokamak in plasma physics?

A tokamak is a machine that confines a plasma using magnetic fields in a donut shape that scientists call a torus. Fusion energy scientists believe that tokamaks are the leading plasma confinement concept for future fusion power plants.

How hot is a tokamak?

150 million degrees Celsius
The temperatures inside the ITER Tokamak must reach 150 million degrees Celsius—or ten times the temperature at the core of the Sun—in order for the gas in the vacuum chamber to reach the plasma state and for the fusion reaction to occur.

What happens if a tokamak fails?

If any of the systems fail (such as the confining toroidal magnetic field) or if, by accident, too much fuel is put into the plasma, the plasma will naturally terminate (what we call “disrupt”) – losing its energy very quickly and extinguishing before any sustained damage is done to the structure.

Can fusion reactor meltdown?

Its major by-product is helium: an inert, non-toxic gas. No long-lived radioactive waste: Nuclear fusion reactors produce no high activity, long-lived nuclear waste. No risk of meltdown: A Fukushima-type nuclear accident is not possible in a tokamak fusion device.

Is plasma as hot as the sun?

The ITER plasma will be ten times hotter than the centre of the Sun. For a physicist, temperature is not only an indication of “cold” or “hot”; it also describes the energy of the particles that make up an object or a particular environment such as a plasma.

How is plasma heated in tokamak?

Within the tokamak, the changing magnetic fields that are used to control the plasma produce a heating effect. The magnetic fields create a high-intensity electrical current through induction, and as this current travels through the plasma, electrons and ions become energized and collide.

Is plasma hotter than lightning?

Yep, the answer is a bolt of lightning, which can reach temperatures of roughly 30,000 kelvins (53,540 degrees Fahrenheit). Dive down to its core, and you’d encounter plasma temperatures of about 15 million kelvins (about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit).

How does a tokamak generate energy?

The Tokamak creates energy by absorbing large amounts of high energy neutrons. These neutrons are created by the heated plasma spinning around the reactor. Because these neutrons are neutrally charged, they are no longer held in the plasma stream by the magnetic fields, and continue outwards until they are stopped by the inner walls of the reactor.

What is inside a tokamak?

The heart of a tokamak is its doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber. Inside, under the influence of extreme heat and pressure, gaseous hydrogen fuel becomes a plasma—a hot, electrically charged gas. In a star as in a fusion device, plasmas provide the environment in which light elements can fuse and yield energy.

What is the ITER tokamak?

When fully completed, the ITER tokamak will contain as much metal as 3 Eiffel Towers, be capable of creating plasma at 150 million degrees Celsius, or 5 times greater than the core of the sun, and produce a tenfold increase in the energy input into the system.

Do we have a positive tokamak fusion reactor?

But that hasn’t happened yet – we still don’t have a net positive tokamak fusion reactor. But we’re getting close. After the tokamak reactor creates enough energy to create the plasma, the plasma itself generates a significant number of neutrons, which start spinning around the inside of the reactor.