Nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion in videographics VIDEOGRAPHIC

Transcript

00:00 [Music plays]

00:09 Presented as an abundant source of energy

00:11 which is safe and does not produce greenhouse gas emissions,

00:15 proponents for nuclear fusion say it could liberate the world

00:18 from its dependence on fossil fuels.

00:20 [Music plays]

00:22 Currently nuclear power stations use the process of nuclear fission

00:26 where the nucleus of an atom is split apart releasing energy.

00:29 Fusion is the reverse process.

00:32 In an extremely hot environment around 150 million degrees Celsius

00:37 two light atoms such as hydrogen are fused to form a heavier one

00:41 such as helium which releases energy.

00:44 This process occurs in the stars such as our sun.

00:47 There are two ways to create this fusion process.

00:51 One is magnetic confinement.

00:54 In an immense reactor light atoms deuterium and tritium are heated.

00:58 The material becomes a plasma, an extremely hot gas with low density

01:03 which is contained using a magnetic field produced by massive magnets.

01:08 This method is used by the International ITER Project in France

01:13 and the JET Project in Britain.

01:15 The second method is inertial confinement

01:19 where hydrogen atoms contained in a thimble-sized capsule

01:23 are bombarded by high-energy lasers.

01:27 [Music plays]

01:30 X-rays are created which heat the interior of the capsule.

01:33 It implodes and fusion reactions are created.

01:37 This technique is used by the US NIF Laboratory.

01:41 During a recent historic experiment the laboratory in California

01:44 created a fusion reaction which produced slightly more energy

01:48 than required to initiate the process with lasers

01:51 a stage known as the ignition platform.

01:55 However this is the first step in a process which would require

01:58 decades of further research to reach an industrial and commercial stage.

02:03 [Music plays]

02:05 [Silence]