Nuclear Fusion : The future of energy

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This article was written by Aviyan Khadka. The error in author names is due to migration from Wordpress to Blogger. Thanks

Energy has been a massive human need since a long time . We use energy to power our home , cook food , use the internet
and various other things but most of it has been confined to non-renewable sources of energy like coal and petroleum . It is predicted that the global energy consumption will increase by 56% by the year 2040 . Fossil Fuel can't sustain the energy demand for a long time as it will eventually run out so we need an alternative source of energy that is highly effective and will help mankind in its further en devours .

[caption id="attachment_88" align="aligncenter" width="576"] World Energy Demand Graph[/caption]

Renewable energy and nuclear power are the world's fastest-growing energy sources, each increasing 2.5% per year. However, fossil fuels continue to supply nearly 80% of world energy use through 2040. Natural gas is the fastest-growing fossil fuel, as global supplies of tight gas, shale gas, and coalbed methane increase.

Right now fission is the only source of nuclear power which is used to produce energy but fission has its disadvantages like radioactive waste and the risk of massive long lasting damage if a meltdown occurs like Chernobyl and Fukushima . Though it may be pollution free except the radioactive waste , nuclear fission carries a lot of risks with it .



Due to early breakthrough in nuclear fission there has been a lot of advances it the field but fusion has not had a large breakthrough though lots of concepts have been developed . The first nuclear fusion experiment on earth was carried out in the early 1930’s .  Some people believe  that fusion is  a few decades away while some believe that it may just  a few years away .

In Nuclear fusion there is little to no radioactive waste , the core of the reactor will remain radioactive for about 100 years but for fission  uranium is used whose half life is about 4.5 billion years . The energy produced from fusion can be limitless as the necessary substances can be extracted from water and nuclear fusion if developed will surpass every other renewable source of energy in a single leap .

[caption id="attachment_93" align="alignnone" width="300"] Inertial Confinement Fusion using lasers[/caption]

Some of the research methods used for fusion are listed below :

1. Inertial Confinement fusion
2. Magnetic Confinement Fusion
3. Magnetized target fusion

i've just listed these methods but if you want more detailed stuff then i have linked them .

[caption id="attachment_91" align="alignleft" width="280"] Tokamak-style reactor for magnetic confinement fusion[/caption]



Fusion may be far away but it has a lot of hope . There is almost no harmful effect from nuclear fusion and if utilized properly it is clean , green and highly resourceful . It's like saying the power of the sun in our hands . Further research and study has brought us closer to a breakthrough but lot of hurdles lie ahead .  When Nuclear fusion is cracked it will be one of mankind's greatest achievements and will bring a new era for humanity where fossil fuels will just be a bad memory .





New Interesting news on fusion