Fusion: Creating a Star on Earth - General Atomics Fusion Education

<strong>Fusion</strong>: <strong>Creating</strong> a <strong>Star</strong> on Earth
Produced by
General Atomics
in Conjunction with
Schools in the San Diego area
2

Why is <strong>Fusion</strong> Important?
4

Alternative Energy Sources
• Hydroelectric Power
• Wind
• Geothermal
• Solar
9

Fossil Fuel Energy Sources -
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
Disadvantages
Coal • Abundant • Burns dirty
• Causes acid rain
and air pollution
Oil • Flexible fuel source • Finite supply
with many derivitives • Causes air pollution
• Transportable
Natural Gas • Burns cleanly • Finite supply
• Transportable
• Dangerous to handle
10

Energy Source
Advantages and Disadvantages
Energy Sources Advantages Disadvantages
Fission • Clean, no CO 2 • Waste disposal is difficult
(Nuclear Power) • Does not produce • Safety concerns
immediate pollution
Hydroelectric • Clean, no CO 2 • Dam construction
destroys habitats
• Geographically limited
Wind • Clean, no CO 2 • Huge numbers of
windmills required for
adequate power generation
• Geographically limited
Geothermal • Clean, no CO 2 • Geographically limited
Solar
• Clean, no CO 2 • Huge number of solar
cells required for
adequate power generation
• Geographically limited
11

World Fossil Reserves
Amount of Fossil Fuels
Millions
of
Years
Hundreds
of
Years
1900 2200
12

<strong>Fusion</strong> Energy
The fossil fuel era is almost over. If we continue
to burn fossil fuels for energy, they will last only
another few hundred years. At our present rate of use,
experts predict a shortfall in less than fifty years.
Energy consumption
(billion barrels of
oil equiv. per year)
400
300
200
Assumes world population
stablizes at 10 billion,
consuming at 2/3 U.S. 1985 rate
World energy
consumption
Shortfall must be
supplied by
alternative sources
100
Energy available
(fossil, hydro,
non-breeder fission)
0
1900
2000 2100 2200 2300
Now
Shortfall begins
Year (A.D.)
13

Fossil Fuel is Environmentally Costly
1000 MW electric plant
• It provides electricity for 1 million U.S. people (1.4 kW/person)
• We need at least 3 plants this size for San Diego
• We need at least 30 for California
• A coal plant this size consumes 8,600 tons of coal per day.
• This produces 32,000 tons of CO 2 per day
• This is 64 pounds of CO 2 for every American per day
14

In a typical fission process used as a source
of energy, a neutron strikes a uranium nucleus causing
it to split into fragments. As in the fusion process, there is a
difference in mass that is released as energy
Neutrons
n+U
fission fragments + neutrons + energy
17

Fission
Atom
+
ENERGY
Large Atom
Atom
18

<strong>Fusion</strong>
Atom
+
ENERGY
Atom
Large Atom
19

<strong>Fusion</strong> vs. Fission
Advantages and Disadvantages
Energy Sources Advantages Disadvantages
Fission • Clean, no CO 2 • Waste disposal is difficult
(Nuclear Power) • Does not produce • Safety concerns
immediate pollution
<strong>Fusion</strong> • Inexhaustible supply of • Huge research and
water-the fuel of fusion development costs
• Fuel is accessible • Reactor vessel core
worldwide becomes radioactive
• Clean
• <strong>Fusion</strong> reactors are
inherently safe, they cannot
explode or overheat
20

Comparison of
Long-Term Energy Sources
Resources Environment Safety Cost
Coal
Large
Very Dirty
Good
Moderate
Today’s
Fission
Small
Waste
Concerns
Active
Control
Moderate
Advanced
Fission
Large
Waste
Concerns
Passive
Moderate
to High
Solar
<strong>Fusion</strong>
Infinite
Infinite
Very
Clean
Clean
Excellent
Inherent
High
?
21

So Why Aren’t <strong>Fusion</strong>
Power Plants Here Now?
22

e
2 orbitals with
2 electrons each
Be
n p p
n p
n n
n
p
e
e
Protons = Atomic
Number
4
Beryllium
9
e
4 Protons
5 Neutrons
4 Electrons
Protons + Neutrons
= Atomic Mass
23

<strong>Fusion</strong> Energy
Plasma is sometimes
referred to as the
fourth state of matter
+
–
–
+
–
+
–
+
Cold
Solid:Ice
Warm
Liquid: Water
Hot
Gas: Steam
Hotter
Plasma
24

Plasma Makes up The
Sun & <strong>Star</strong>s
25

Normal Atoms
26

Like Charges Repel
28

Hydrogen
30

Hydrogen = 1H 1 Deuterium = 1H 2 Tritium = 1H 3
1 H1 1 H2 1 H3
31

Thermonuclear Reactions in the Sun
1H 1 + 1 H 1 1 H 2 + 1 e 0
In the first reaction, 2 protons combine
to form deuterium and a positron.
One of the protons is converted into
a neutron and a positon
proton neutron
positron
1H 2 + 1 H 1 2 He 3 + (gamma)
radiation
In the 2nd reaction a
proton + deuterium unite
to form the light isotope
of helium, 2 He 3
2He 3 + 2 He 3 2He 4 + 1 H 1 + 1 H1
The first two reactions must
occur twice for the 3rd
reaction to occur
32

Summary of Solar <strong>Fusion</strong> Reactions
P
+
P
D
+ e+ + Energy
D
+
P
2He 3
+ gamma radiation + Energy
2He 3
+
2He 3
2He 4
+ P + P + Energy
33

But the Potential Payoff is Enormous
n
He
D T E=mc 2
• The fraction of mass “lost” is just 38 parts out of 10,000
• Nevertheless, the fusion energy released from just 1 gram
of DT equals the energy from about 2400 gallons of oil
34

E = mc 2
Einstein’s equation that equates energy and mass
E = Energy
m = Mass
c = Speed of Light (3 x 108 m/sec)
Example:
If a 1 gram raisin was converted completely into energy
E = 1 gram x c2
= (10 -3 kg) ( 3 x 108 m/sec) 2
= 9 x 10 13 joules
This would be equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT!
35

Energy Release E = mc 2
0.008
Hydrogen
0.006
Deuterium
Extra mass per nucleon
0.004
0.002
0
Tritium
Lithium
Uranium
- 0.002
0 40 80 120 160 200 240
Atomic mass number
36

<strong>Fusion</strong>
Energy Input
We give kinetic energy
(temperature) to
hydrogen
Energy Output
We get back 2000
times more energy
than we put in
37

COAL
OIL
FISSION
FUSION
~2,000,000 TONNES
(21,010 RAILCAR LOADS)
~1,300,000 TONNES
(10,000,000 BARRELS)
~30 TONNES UO 2
(ONE RAILCAR LOAD)
~0.6 TONNES D
(ONE PICKUP TRUCK)
38

Abundant Energy From Sea Water
50 Cups Sea Water
or
2 Tons of Coal
Thimble of 2 H (D)
Deuterium
20 Tons of Coal
39

Reduced Waste Products
Power
Source
Coal
Fission
<strong>Fusion</strong>:
Today’s Materials
Advanced Materials
Total Waste
(cubic meters)
10,000 (ashes)
440
2000
2000
High-Level
RAD Waste
0
120
30
0
1000 MW(e) Power Plant - 30 year Lifetime
40

Heat Exchanger
Neutron
Heat
Exchange
Material
Coolant
Steam Turbine
Electrical
Generator
41

Reaction Ignition Temperature Output Energy
Fuel Product (millions of °C) (keV) (keV)
D + T
4He + n
P P P n
n
n n n
n P
45 4
17,600
D + 3He
P n
n P Pn
4He + p
P
n
n
P
P
350 30
18,300
3He + n
D + D
P n
P
P
n
n
400 35
~4,000
n
P
T + p
P
n n
P
400 35
~4,000
42

Deuteron
Energetic
Neutron
<strong>Fusion</strong> Reaction
Triton
Helium
Nucleus
43

<strong>Fusion</strong> Represents an Inexhaustible
Energy Supply for Mankind
• <strong>Fusion</strong> fuels deuterium (D)
and tritium (T) are
hydrogen isotopes
3/4 oz. heavy
water (D 2 0)
• 3/4 oz. of heavy water has
the same energy content as
13,000 gallons of oil for
D-D reaction, or 32,000
gallons of oil for D-T reaction
1 barrel
(42 gal.)
water
(H 2 0)
•Tritium is made from
n + Li T + He
• Lithium is plentiful both in
the earth’s crust and oceans
45

Methods to Heat
Deuterium-Tritium Fuel
• Compressing the fuel
• Internal Electric Current
• Neutral Particles
• Microwaves
• Lasers
46

<strong>Fusion</strong> can be accomplished in
Three Different Ways
Magnetic
Confinement
Nucleus
+
Magnetic
Field
-
Electron
Intense
Energy
Beams
Fuel Pellet
SUN
Inertial
Confinement
Gravitational
Confinement
47

High Power Lasers can Deliver the Intensity
Required for <strong>Fusion</strong> Ignition
2 watts of sunlight
About 100 watts/cm2
300°C
Over one hundred
trillion watts
of laser power
100 to 1000 trillion
watts/cm2
Tens of millions
degrees C (10 keV)
48

Inertial Confinement <strong>Fusion</strong> Concept
Our ultimate goal is to create a short lived, microminiature star
which will release energy by thermonuclear fusion in the same
manner that our sun and the stars produce energy.
Heating
of
ablator
DT
Fuel
Use high power
laser to heat
outer surface of pellet
Ablation
and
compression
Outward streaming ablator
material produces an inward
directed, rocket-like
force that compresses
the DT fuel
49

Inertial Confinement <strong>Fusion</strong> Concept
(continued)
Compression
and heating
Careful tailoring of implosion
produces compression to
several 1000X and 100,000,000°C
Ignition and
Thermonuclear
burn
Thermonuclear burn of the
DT fuel will produce a fusion
yield many times the input
driver energy
50

Toroidal Magnetic
Confinement of
Plasma
51

Typical Plasmas
Density
n e (m -3 )
Temperature
T e (eV) °K
Interstellar
10+6
1
104
Solar Corona
1012
102
106
Thermonuclear
1020
104
108
Laser
1026
102
106
Air Density
1025
1/40
294
52

Characteristics of a Plasma
• Particles are charged
• Conducts electricity
• Can be constrained magnetically
53

Unconfined
Confined
Ion
Electrons
Magnetic
Field Lines
54

Where are the Current
Major <strong>Fusion</strong> Energy
Research Projects?
56

List of Major Programs/Devices Worldwide
JET from the European Community
JT-60U in Japan
NOVA at Lawrence Livermore Labs in California
TFTR at PPPL in Princeton, New Jersey
DIII-D at General Atomics in San Diego, CA
57

NOVA Machine Used Inertial Confinement
(Has Not Proved as Successful as
Magnetic Confinement)
58

TFTR is located at PPPL
Princeton, New Jersey
59

DIII-D is Located at General Atomics
San Diego, CA
60

ITER
(International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)
• Cooperative effort by Europe, Japan, U.S. and Russia
• Conceptual Design Activity completed
• Engineering Design Activity is underway
– Three sites: San Diego, U.S.A., Garching, Germany
and Naka, Japan
– Detailed engineering and protoype testing
– Cost of $300 M per party over 6 years
• Decision to proceed with construction
will be made in 1995
61

ITER
(International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)
30 meters diameter
30 meters tall
62

ITER
63

Ion Temperature
(M ˚C)
<strong>Fusion</strong> Experiments Now Approach
Ignition Conditions
500
Q = 1 Non-Maxwellian
400
300
200
100
TFTR 90
JT–60U 92
JT–60U 93
TFTR 88
<strong>Fusion</strong> Process
TFTR 93 DT TFTR 92
JT–60U 92
Demonstrated
TFTR 88
Q = 1
TFTR 87
JET 89
JT–60U 92
JET 88
JET 91 DT
DIII-D 90 TFTR 86
DIII–D 93 JET 91
DIII-D 89
JET 89
JET 89
DIII-D 89
DIII–D 91
DIII-D 89
JET 88
JET 88
DIII-D 89
DIII-D 89
DIII-D 89
JET 86
ALC-C 83
TFTR 86
<strong>Fusion</strong> as an
Electrical
Source
Q = ∞
0
10 10 10 10
n e
(0) τ (m–3 E
s)
18 19 20 21
Confinement Quality
(Number of particles per cubic meter confined for one second)
64

What Progress Has Been Made
in Magnetic <strong>Fusion</strong>?
FUSION POWER
MW th
1,000
100
ITER
POWER
PLANT
kW th
W th
10
1000
100
10
1000
100
10
PLT
PDX
TFTR
JET
JT–60U
TFTR
JET / TFTR
DIII-D
DIII
ALCATOR C
Achieved (DD)
Achieved (DT)
Projected (DT)
HOUSE
LIGHT BULB
1
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
PLT
PDX
JET
DIII & DIII-D
Princeton Large Tokamak
Princeton Divertor Experiment
Joint European Torus
General Atomics Tokamak Experiments
TFTR
ALCATOR C
ITER
JT–60U
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
Japanese Tokamak Experiment
65

World Energy Resources Indicate New
Sources of Clean Energy Must be Found
ANNUAL USE 0.3 Q/year
Oil
Fossil
Uranium
Lithium
Deuterium
13
80
9,000
7,600
16,000,000
In units of Q or 1018 BTU
66