Researchers making fusion energy steps
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Jul 27, 2010 -- UPI
U.S. researchers say they've made a discovery that could bring nuclear
fusion reactors and the possibility of clean, almost limitless power one
step closer.
Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., have made
discoveries critical to understanding reactions between hot plasma
inside a fusion reactor and surfaces facing the plasma, a university
release said Tuesday.
Their aim is to eventually create coatings capable of withstanding the
extreme conditions where the lining comes into contact with the extreme
heat of the plasma, the release said.
Researchers are using nanotechnology to modify tiny features in the
coating in an effort to create new "plasma-facing" materials tolerant to
radiation damage, Jean Paul Allain, an assistant professor of nuclear
engineering at Purdue, said.
A major challenge in finding the right coatings to line fusion reactors
is that materials change due to extreme conditions inside, where
temperatures can reach millions of degrees.
A fusion power plant would produce 10 times more energy than a
conventional nuclear fission reactor, and because its fuel, deuterium,
is contained in seawater, a fusion reactor's fuel supply would be
virtually inexhaustible, researchers say.
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