fusion

Europe and Japan advance unstoppable towards nuclear fusion. His last achievement reminds us why we don’t have it yet

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The experimental reactor of nuclear fusion JT-60SA resides in Naka, a small city not very far from Tokyo (Japan). Its construction began in January 2013, but did not do it from scratch; He did it taking as a starting point the JT-60 reactor, his precursor, a machine that came into operation in 1985 and that for more than three decades has reached very important milestones in the field of merger energy. The JT-60SA assembly ended at the beginning of 2020, and since the end of 2023 it is ready to start The first tests with plasma. This machine is a device Tokamak that like jet and The future iter It resorts to the magnetic confinement of the ionized plasma that contains the deuterium and tritium nuclei to trigger nuclear fusion reactions. Whatever this machine is titanic. Colossal. In fact, it has a height of 15.4 meters and a diameter of 13.7 meters. However, the most shocking are the “specifications” that allow us to train an idea about their performance. And it is able to confine a plasma with a volume of 130 m³, as well as to generate a 2,25 teslas toroidal magnetic field and hold a current inside the plasma of 5.5 mA (5.5 million amps). These figures are shocking, and presumably when Iter is ready to start the first tests with plasma their figures will be even more impressive. Of course, during the next months already measure that the reactor JT60-SA deliver its first results we will develop with great detail. JT-60SA already has one of the most advanced diagnostic systems that exist On April 22, the latest components needed by Japanese and European engineers who work in the reactor to assemble the Thomson dispersion diagnostic system arrived at the JT-60SA facilities. Every time the researchers operating this very complex machine carry out an experiment with it need to know with the maximum possible precision the temperature and density of the plasma electrons. The components of the Thomson Dispersion Measurement Team have been designed and manufactured in Italy, Romania and Japan The main problem they face is that it is not possible to obtain this data taking direct measures. In order for the merger of the deuterium and tritium nuclei to take place, it is necessary that the plasma that contains them a temperature of At least 150 million degrees Celsiusand any sensor that contacts him at this temperature will not survive. This is the reason why the engineers of the JT-60SA reactor have been forced to set up an extraordinarily sophisticated diagnostic system. The components of the Thomson dispersion measurement team have been designed and manufactured in Italy, Romania and Japan. Broadly speaking, this ingenuity manages to measure the temperature and density of plasma electrons analyzing the light that emits with a high -power laser beam dispersed, precisely, by the plasma electrons themselves. Somehow the interaction between the laser and plasma is what allows engineers indirectly calculating temperature and density. The JT-60SA reactor will have two diagnostic systems of Thomson’s dispersion. The nucleus has been developed in Japan, and the edge of the plasma has been devised in Europe. Both are currently being installed, and, if everything goes well, this machine will have in a few months one of the diagnostic and measurement equipment more advanced that exist. The nuclear fusion no longer raises any challenge from the point of view of fundamental physics. If we still have no commercial fusion energy reactors, it is due to the fact that this technology still requires solving several challenges in the field of engineering. The tuning of this diagnostic system was one of them. Image | QST More information | Eurofusion In Xataka | The Jet reactor has successfully completed its final tests with deuterium and tritium. It is a crucial milestone for nuclear fusion

The good news is that there is a material that works well on the walls of fusion reactors. The bad: it is lithium

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We know how the sun works. Another thing is to imitate it. If we got Build a nuclear fusion reactorwe would have clean, safe and practically unlimited energy. But doing so involves incredibly complex engineering challenges. The wall problem. One of the more colossal challenges In nuclear fusion is to build a container that supports a hottest plasma than the sun’s core. For years, scientists have been experiencing with various materials, from graphite to high resistance metals such as tungsten. A recent researchthe result of an international collaboration of nine institutions, confirms that we have a star candidate that works spectacularly well for the wall of the reactors: lithium. A self -refrasinal shield. To understand why lithium is so attractive, you must first visualize the hell that is unleashed inside a tokamak, the most common fusion reactor design. A hydrogen gas, mainly its deuterium and tritium isotopesmore than 100 million degrees Celsius is heated to become a plasma. Magnetic fields potently confine it so that it does not touch anything, but it is impossible to prevent some particles from escaping and violently shocking against the interior walls of the reactor. This is where lithium shines because it can be used in a liquid state. Instead of eroding and degrading with each impact, it flows and heals himself instantly. This self -referential liquid layer would protect the solid components behind. Moreover, if the reactor walls are hot enough, the lithium can form a steam shield that absorbs much of the impact before it reaches the solid surface. Goodbye to graphite? Research shows that lithium is not only a passive shield, but an active plasma conditioner. Instead of reflecting the fuel particles that escape, cooling the edge of plasma and destabilizing it, lithium absorbs them. This helps keep heat where it has to be and, therefore, to stabilize the fusion reaction and improve the confinement of plasma. According to researchers, lithium is a promising candidate to replace graphite, which has a much higher erosion rate. Applied in tungsten walls, it allows to operate the fusion to greater power densities, opening the door to more compact and efficient reactors. Two ways to apply it. The researchers tested, on the one hand, to cover the lithium walls before lighting the plasma and, on the other, to inject lithium powder directly on the plasma during the reactor operation. The injection was much more effective when creating a uniform and stable temperature profile, one of the sacred conditions for commercial fusion. All tests were carried out at the Tokamak Diii-D of General Atomics with financing from the United States Department of Energy. The authors of the study, published in the Materials and Energy nuclear magazine, are researchers of the Princeton plasma physics laboratory and his collaborators. Bad news. In addition to exercising even more pressure on the already tensioning lithium market (Although it does not scarce, it is not extracted to the rhythm that grows its demand), there is a more alarming problem. The lithium is too much Well at work. Catch the tritium with a very high efficiency, preventing it from returning to plasma to be used as fuel. If the tritio is stuck to the walls, the reactor ends up running out of fuel and the cycle breaks. The accumulation of radioactive tritium in cold areas and difficult to access the reactor also greatly complicates its maintenance and is a safety risk. To top it off, the retention is more significant if the lithium is injected with the reactor in operation, the most efficient application method. A possible solution. The key is that these experiments were carried out with lithium in solid state, at temperatures below its melting point. In a real reactor, with liquid lithium, The solution could be a “dialysis” system: Instead of bathing the walls by a lithium river and leaving it there, it would be continuously extracted from the reactor, taken to a processing plant to separate the tritium trapped, and pumped back, clean and ready to continue working. The reactor design would have to adapt to this new proposal. It would be necessary to avoid the cold areas where lithium and tritio could accumulate and stay stagnant, keep the walls at higher and more controlled temperatures, and include the circuit to extract, processes and continuously introduce lithium. A material that solves multiple problems in our mission of simulating the sun, but in return introduces new and also complex. Image | General Atomics In Xataka | There is an alternative to nuclear fusion. It is already underway and is extraordinarily promising

We have detected the greatest fusion of black holes seen to date. It is a problem for our theoretical models

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One of the enigmas that most intrigue astronomers is that of Black holes of intermediate size, those black holes halfway between the holes of stellar mass and the supermassions such as the one that dominates in the center of our galaxy. These are black holes with masses between 100 times that of our sun and those that multiply this star mass by millions. GW231123. A group of Ligo-Virgo-Kagra (LVK) collaboration researchers (LVK) has announced The detection of the greatest clash between two black holes registered to date. The discovery has occurred thanks to the gravitational waves generated by the impact, whose signal has been called GW231123 by those who detected it. November 2023. The name of the signal refers to the date on which it was observed, on November 23, 2023. The study of the detected waves led those responsible for the new study to estimate that the resulting black hole had a dough some 225 times higher than that of our sun. Until now the most massive had been “alone” 140 solar masses. It was in 2021, the GW190521 signal. Estimates indicate that the 2023 signal was the result of the collision between a black hole of 100 solar masses with one of 140 solar masses. That is, only one of the black holes was already as massive as that of the fruit of the largest shock detected so far. From this event not only highlights its magnitude, but also the fact that the speed of rotation of black holes was surprisingly high. A new enigma in heaven. All this planet an important unknown for the team. As they explain, the holes of such mass cannot be formed from the death of a star, at least based on what contemporary physical models say. The only way we know can be formed is through the fusion of smaller black holes. LVK. In 2015, the Ligo experiment made history detecting for the first time the clash of two black holes through the expansion of gravitational waves associated with such a violent event. This pioneering experiment has been company in Europe and Kagra for years (Kamioka gravitational wave detector) In Japan. Together they have already detected more than 300 clashes between black holes. The details of the study They have been presented In the 24th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR24) and 16th Conference Edoardo Amaldi on gravitational waves, a joint conference held this week in Glasgow, Scotland. Not so easy to observe. The detection of GW231123 “pushed the limits of both gravitational wave detection technology and current theoretical models,” says the responsible team. Analyzing these types of events through gravitational waves is not easy, but knowing more about them can help us unravel some key mysteries of the cosmos. “Black holes seem to turn very quickly, almost to the limit of what is allowed by Einstein’s theory of relativity,” explained in a press release Charlie today, co -author of the study. “This makes the signal difficult to model and interpret. It is an excellent case study to push the development of our theoretical tools.” Looking for the midpoint. Theoretical tools that perhaps help us reveal the secrets of the elusive black sized black holes. Today we do not know very well how these holes are formed whose mere existence implies the certainty that we still do not know about our universe. In Xataka | What happens if you fall into a black hole, explained in a simple way in an overwhelming NASA simulation Image | POT

The problems of nuclear fusion are falling behind each other. Optimism cornering denialism

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The challenges raised by the nuclear fusion intimidate. And it is to replicate on our planet and small scale the same reactions that take place in The interior of the stars It is a titanic challenge. Even so, The human being has already traveled A very important part of this path. There is a belief that defends that in the field of nuclear fusion we have barely advanced since World War II, but, as we will see in this article, it is not so. There is much to do, but we have advanced a lot. In order for electric power plants equipped with fusion reactors to be viable, it is necessary to solve problems that are still dealing with engineers. And it is that the challenges posed by nuclear fusion right now reside in the field of engineering, and not in that of basic science. In fact, Spain will actively participate In the search for the solution to one of these problems thanks to IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion materials irradicion facility demo-eraned neutron source), The installation that is under construction (Granada). Its purpose in broad strokes will be to develop a source capable of producing high energy neutrons with the intensity and volume of irradiation necessary to test candidate materials to be used in future fusion energy plants. This is one of the pending challenges, but many others have already been left behind thanks to the great work that scientists have carried out in experimental reactors, such as the already “retiree” JET (Joint European Torus), which is housed in Oxford (England). Let’s trust the reactor JT-60SA of Naka (Japan), and, above all, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experctor reactor), are up to expectations. Eurofusion and the University of Texas have made two new relevant contributions We can imagine in an intuitive way a nuclear fusion reactor as a pressure cooker in which two essential ingredients are cooked: deuterium and trity. To ensure that the nuclei of these two hydrogen isotopes merge and release the neutron that will ultimately allow us to obtain a large amount of energy it is necessary to confine them in an extremely hot plasma. In fact, so that this process takes place, a temperature of at least 150 million degrees Celsius must reach. Scientists know how to do it, so submitting the deuterium and tritium nuclei at the pressure and temperature to get me to merge is no longer a problem. What still represents a challenge is to achieve Keep turbulence under control. Otherwise, the plasma will be destabilized, its density in the critical regions will be affected and the support of the fusion reaction over time will not be possible. The mechanisms that govern this process are very complex, but little by little physicists and engineers who work in fusion energy are getting them better. The QCE (‘Quasi-Continuous exhaust’) regime is characterized by eliminating periodic instabilities that occur on the edge of plasma In broad strokes what they intend is to minimize turbulence so that the loss of plasma energy is minimal. Two of the tools that these technicians have are the artificial intelligence (AI), which is playing a very important role in understanding the mechanisms that govern plasma behavior, and Rebco superconductor magnets. In fact, The sparc fusion reactor that is building the American company Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) uses them. Precisely Eurofusionthe European organization that is responsible for promoting and supporting the scientific research necessary to bring to fruition The European Nuclear Fusion Planhas recently made an important contribution in this field. And it has shown that in the reactors Tokamaklike Jet or Iter, it is possible to use an operation mode known as Qce (Quasi-counts exhaust) that is characterized by eliminating periodic instabilities that occur at the edge of plasma, and, at the same time, it supports high density in this region of gas and preserves a very high level of energy. Gradually the confinement and stabilization of plasma are no longer a problem. The other recent contribution in which I propose that we investigate it briefly has been carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Texas and the National Laboratory of Los Alamos, both in the US. In the article they have published in Physical Review Letters These scientists propose the creation of a magnetic confinement system without leaks ten times faster, according to their calculations, than the standard method without sacrificing a precision apex. This innovation is important because it helps to resolve the containment of high energy particles within the reactor, and, therefore, to avoid the loss of temperature and density in the critical regions of plasma. Yes, as I mentioned a few lines above, much remains to be done in the field of nuclear fusion, but definitely every day we are one step closer to commercial fusion energy. Image | Fusion for Energy More information | Eurofusion | Texas University In Xataka | Iter has faced one of the great challenges of nuclear fusion: prevent plasma from 150 million ºC to destroy the reactor

The Granada particle accelerator is born today. Thanks to him Spain has the key to nuclear fusion

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Today is a crucial day for IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion materials irradicion facility demo-eraned neutron source). This very important scientific project is closely linked to ITER (International Thermonuclear Experctor reactor), The experimental reactor of nuclear fusion that An international consortium led by Europe He is building in the French town of Cadarache. Ifmif-Dones, however, resides in listening to, a town in the province of Granada. The construction works of this last installation began in mid -September 2022, but today it is a very important day for both Granada and all of Spain. And it is because the Council of Ministers will approve today the investment of almost 200 million euros required by the start of the construction of the IFMIF-DONES linear particle accelerator. This machine is the authentic heart of this scientific installation, and, therefore, the ingenuity that will place Spain in The nuclear fusion map. The tuning of this linear particle accelerator will cost approximately 450 million euros, although the Andalusian Board will contribute half of this money. However, this is the cost of the accelerator; The IFMIF-Dones project will completely cost about 700 million euros. Spain will contribute half of this capital. To this figure we must add another 50 million to carry out its implementation. In addition, the operation of this avant -garde research center will have an annual cost of about 60 million euros, of which Spain will assume 10%. It may seem a lot of money, but we must not forget that those responsible for the project are convinced that The economic and scientific return Ifmif-Dones will far exceed your cost. What is Ifmif-Dones and why it is crucial for the future of nuclear fusion Ifmif-Dones is one of the three fundamental pillars of the nuclear fusion building in whose construction the European Union is involved. The other two are iter and demo. The experimental nuclear fusion reactor that is currently being built in the French town of Cadarache seeks to demonstrate that the merger at the scale that man can handle works, and also that it is profitable from an energy point of view. However, Iter does not aspire to produce electricity. That will be demo’s task (Demonstration Power Plant), an installation that will take the technological advances that will have shown to function correctly in Iter and take them one step further to establish themselves as The authentic precursor of commercial nuclear fusion reactors. However, without Ifmif-Dones there will be no demo, so Granada is now the center of attention. The fusion of a deuterium core and another tritium triggers the production of a helium core and a neutron that is fired with an energy of about 14 MEV To understand in all its extension what is the role of the IFMIF-DONES project, it is necessary that we briefly review the foundations of nuclear fusion. One of the biggest challenges facing the technicians who are involved in the tuning of nuclear fusion reactors by means of magnetic confinement, such as Iter, consists of recreating inside the vacuum chamber of these sophisticated machines the necessary conditions so that the deuterium and tritium nuclei are merged. However, this is not everything. When this reaction takes place the fusion of a deuterium nucleus and another of tritium triggers the production of a helium core and a neutron that is fired with An energy of about 14 MEV (Megaelectronvolts). The problem is that the neutron lacks net electric charge, so it cannot be confined inside the magnetic field that, however, does retain the deuterium and tritium nuclei, which have positive electric charge. This is the reason why when it originates as a result of the nuclear fusion reaction, this neutron is fired towards the walls of the vacuum chamber with enormous energy. This particle is very important because in practice it will be closely linked to the production of electrical energy in nuclear fusion reactors, but, at the same time, it represents a very aggressive form of radiation that can significantly degrade the materials used in the reactor. The components that will be most affected by the direct impact of high energy neutrons and the most intense heat flow are the internal wall of the vacuum chamber and the Blanketthat it is a mantle that covers it and that has as its purpose Regenerate the tritium that it is necessary to use as fuel in the nuclear fusion reaction. This is the reason why it is crucial to develop new materials that are able to support the flow of neutrons and guarantee, therefore, that the reactor will have a prolonged operational life. IFMIF-DONES linear accelerator will produce high energy neutrons with the intensity and volume of irradiation necessary to test candidate materials This is, neither more nor less, the purpose of Ifmif-Dones. And to carry it out it is necessary to put ready -to -set facilities to allow the technicians involved in the project to evaluate the properties of candidate materials to intervene not only in demo, but also in future commercial nuclear fusion commercial reactors. The task of this project invites us to intuit what the heart of Ifmif-Dones is: a source capable of producing high energy neutrons with the intensity and volume of irradiation necessary for Test candidate materials. And this source of neutrons will be nothing other than a linear particle accelerator that will help IFMIF-DONES scientists to try, validate and qualify the materials that in the medium term should reach future electric power production plants through fusion. Image | IFMIF-DONES In Xataka | Iter has faced one of the great challenges of nuclear fusion: prevent plasma from 150 million ºC to destroy the reactor

China intimidates in nuclear fusion. The construction of its own iter advances at full speed

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The way to a destiny as challenging as the nuclear fusion Commercial must necessarily be full of small conquests. Of achievements that may seem modest, but that, in reality, are milestones that place us a little closer to an ambitious goal that does not pursue anything other than help us solve our energy needs without continuing to emit greenhouse gases. In this context Iter monopolizes much of attention. And it is understandable that it is so. After all, it is a project with a huge wingspan, which is also led by the European Union. In fact, this organization is assuming together approximately 50% of the total cost of a plan in which the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and South Korea also participate. However, the commitment of public origin for nuclear fusion is not condensed only in Iter. And it is not limited only to the European Union. Not much less. Europe is pointing Very important scientific milestonesbut there are other countries that are also being very high, and that, precisely, do not move in the orbit of the West. In fact, two of them, probably the most outstanding, are China and South Korea. The Chinese experimental reactor CFETR is extraordinarily promising China that, as we have seen, actively participates in Iter’s tuning, has been engaged in the development of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor for several years at least as ambitious as the latter. It’s called CFETR (Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor), A denomination that we can translate as a test reactor for Chinese fusion engineering. The engineers of the country led by Xi Jinping completed their conceptual design in 2015 taking as a starting point the Chinese fusion reactors East, HL-2a (M) and J-Text. The experts of the commission that certifies nuclear facilities have approved the first section of the vacuum chamber CFETR has much in common with Iter. In fact, it aspires to complement the machine that is being built in the French town of Cadarache, and, at the same time, it is nourished by the knowledge generated during the design and development of Iter. Anyway The construction of the CFETR reactor It is already underway. And advances at a very good pace. In fact, just two days ago the experts of the Chinese commission that certifies the nuclear facilities gave the final approval to the first section of the reactor vacuum chamber. This is the gigantic component that we can see in the cover photography of this article. The CFETR reactor vacuum chamber will consist of seven other sections such as this, will have a height of 20 meters and will be made of stainless steel of very low carbon content. Inside, fusion reactions between the deuterium and tritium nuclei will occur that will be magnetically confined in a plasma that will exceed 100 million degrees Celsius. The most interesting thing is that this machine will operate in two phases. During the first of them, he will prove that he is able to generate up to 200 MW of energy, as well as sustain a tritium production ratio greater than 1. This simply means that will produce more tritio than consumeso he will be able to self -abuse from this radioactive hydrogen isotope. During the second phase of operation, the CFETR reactor will pursue more than 1 GW of power, so it will become a demonstration machine that, if everything goes well, will be happened by the first commercial fusion energy plants. Image | Xinhua News More information | China Science In Xataka | Spain’s milestone in nuclear fusion: the first plasma produced by the Smart reactor invites us to optimism

Germany gets serious with nuclear fusion. His energy model shouts that this ‘Stellarator’ reactor works

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The experimental reactors of nuclear fusion of type Stellarator They represent a very solid alternative to Tokamakas ITER either JET. And they are not precisely the result of a recent investigation. In fact, both designs were designed During the 50s of the last century. He Stellarator It was designed by the American physicist Lyman Spitzer and exercised as the foundations on which the Plasma Physics Laboratory of Princeton University (USA) was built. The design TokamakHowever, it was devised by Soviet physicists igor Yevguénievich Tamm and Andréi DMítrievich Sájarov from the ideas proposed a few years before by his colleague Oleg Lavrentiev. Both reactors were conceived with the purpose of confine Stellarator He received great support from the scientific community in the West due to its enormous potential. However, when Soviet and American scientists published their results and compared them, they realized that Tokamak design performance It was one or two orders of magnitude better than that of Stellarator. From that moment on, this last design was largely marginalized. The most obvious difference between one and the other lies in its geometry, but it is enough to investigate both to realize that the reactors Stellarator They still have a lot to say. Proxima Fusion has put a date to its demonstration fusion plant Type reactors Tokamak They have a toroid form (or donut), and Stellarator They have a more complex geometry that resembles them to a twisted donut on itself. However, the fundamental difference between these two designs is that the reactors Tokamak They require that the magnetic fields that confine plasma be generated by coils and induced by plasma itself, while in the reactors Stellarator Everything is done with coils. There is no current within the plasma. This means, in short, that the latter are more complex and difficult to build. In February 2023, the Wendelstein 7-X reactor managed In Europe we have a type fusion reactor Stellarator extraordinarily promising: el Wendelstein 7-X. It is installed in one of the buildings that the Max Planck Institute has for Plasma Physics in Greifswald (Germany), and its construction concluded in 2015. The first tests carried out in this fusion reactor between 2015 and 2018 came out as planned, so in November of this last year An important moment arrived in his itinerary: It was necessary to modify it to install a water cooling system that was able to evacuate more effectively the residual thermal energy of the vacuum chamber walls, as well as a system that allowed the plasma to reach a higher temperature. The works that required these modifications concluded successfully in August 2022. And in February 2023 the Wendelstein 7-X reactor reached an important milestone: it managed to confine and stabilize the plasma for 8 uninterrupted minutes in which it delivered a total energy of 1.3 gigajultos. During the last two years everything learned in the development and the first tests carried out in this machine has been used by the German emerging company Proxima Fusion. In fact, its founders come from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. His work is being financed by Germany, the European Union, and also by several private entities of venture capital. And it’s going very well. In fact, fusion physicists and engineers have published a scientific article in Fusion Engineering and Design which has already been reviewed by pairs and in which they detail the design of Stellaris, its reactor prototype Stellarator commercial. Your next step requires Build a demonstration power plant From its design that should be ready in 2031. Yes, in just six years. I hope you get it. If Alpha, which is what this test power plant will be called, the commercial fusion energy will be a reality before the next decade is completed. This is the authentic purpose of next fusion. Image | Proxima Fusion More information | Fusion Engineering and Design In Xataka | In France, an alternative to Iter in Nuclear Fusion is being cooking: a commercial ‘Stellarator’ reactor

It is a critical milestone to get to nuclear fusion

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Imagining a world with clean and inexhaustible energy is no longer just science fiction. France has achieved a unique milestone to maintain a plasma reaction in minutes. An unprecedented advance. On February 12 in France, the West reactor of the Atomic Energy Commission and Alternative Energies (CEA) has managed to maintain a plasma For more than 22 minutes (1,337 seconds), thus beating the previous record of plasma duration reached with a tokamak. This represented an improvement of 25% with respect to the previous record time achieved with EAST, in China, which reached 1,066 seconds (17 minutes) a few weeks before. In addition, the plasma reached a temperature of 50 million degrees Celsius. In depth. This achievement has shown that magnetic confinement technology is moving forward, allowing reactors to sustain the extreme conditions necessary for nuclear fusion for longer periods. The longer the plasma is controlled, the closer we will be generating fusion energy continuously, reliable and commercially viable. To achieve that time and control plasma, the Eurofusion consortium scientists They have applied a combination of strategies, such as temperatures between 100 and 150 million ° C, 2MW injection of thermal power and the use of superconductive coils and cooled components. In addition, the materials were protected, minimizing erosion and contamination of the internal components of the reactor. Why nuclear fusion? Nuclear fusion It is considered the “Holy Grail” of energy because it does not produce long -term radioactive waste, unlike nuclear fission. Besides, Use less resourcesIt has a practically inexhaustible fuel and could generate clean and stable energy without carbon emissions. Magnetic confinement technology in Tokamaks is the most advanced today and is considered the most viable path to obtain merger energy. A global effort. The study of nuclear fusion and seeking its stability is being given in different parts of the world. Starting with ITERthe experimental reactor that an international consortium led by Europe is building in the French town of Cadarache. On the same continent a little higher in Germany and in France themselves are exploring other alternatives such as type reactors Stellarator. Out of the European Union, in the United Kingdom, the JET It was for years the referent in generation of fusion energy, closed in 2023 after providing key data for the development of the future Iter. In Asia, in Japan, the JT-60SA It is a joint project with Europe that seeks to optimize plasma stability. In China, the reactor East It has broken temperature and duration records of the plasma, approaching necessary conditions for commercial fusion. For its part, KstarIn South Korea, he has managed to keep plasma at extreme temperatures for prolonged periods. Forecasts West’s record has shown that magnetic confinement technology in Tokamaks could approach The possibility of building viable commercial reactors. In addition, this progress has shown that the knowledge of the plasmas and the technological control of them for longer periods is maturing and offers the hope that merger plasmas can stabilize for longer periods in machines such as The iter. Image | CEA Xataka | Spain’s milestone in nuclear fusion: the first plasma produced by the Smart reactor invites us to optimism

The fusion of illegal races and Kaizen philosophy

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The search for continuous improvement. Evolve to be better with small changes that go, very little by little, perfecting the product by touching the sick. These are the Kaizen philosophy bases. The name, in fact, perfectly represents what tries to explain. It cannot be more explicit since it uses the Japanese terms kai (change) and zen (good). Along the way, it is about applying a series of strategies to eliminate the most inefficient processes, correct errors as soon as possible by applying immediate solutions or promote collective participation. But there are two other pillars that define perfectly what we are going to talk about next. Kaizen philosophy tries to optimize times and resources while having an open mind to apply small changes that make the product evolve and take it to a new stadium. The latter was key when one of Toyota’s most mythical cars was born: the supra. We would not have Toyota supra without celica … and without Kaizen philosophy When he talks about Kaizen philosophy, in Toyota they have a lot to say. In fact, it is your way of explaining What is a Takumi And why they have figures in charge of simply feeling cars to discover small irregularities to correct during the production process. It is that idea of ​​combining small changes, very small, that when adding and one takes distance to see the complete result, it realizes that it has created a completely disruptive product. It is, in fact, what happened with the Toyota supra. To understand the origin of the Toyota Supra we have to look back. Specifically half a century to go to the 70s. Then, Toyota began to manufacture the Toyota Celica. It was 1970 and the new Japanese sportsman was born from the base of the Toyota Carina to which the possibility of being able to choose between a 1.4 or 1.6 liter engine and two types of gearboxes (manual or automatic) was added. The car was born as a Coupé 2+2 To enjoy relaxed, combining good performance but without sacrificing the comfort comfort. Very soon the car had a redesign that accentuated the Coupé forms, leaving a single door to each side and a huge back gate that facilitated access to the trunk and its load. The reception was so good that Toyota gave continuity to Celica just a little later. In 1977 a second generation already had on the market that already opted for the three -door body and that, again, was defined by the Carina platform. And aware of the car’s sports potential, in 1979 the word supra appears for the first time. The supra was a special finish for the Toyota Celica. It was called, in fact, Toyota Celica supra (MKI). He lengthened the body a bit and added some most expensive finishes such as the four disc brakes or independent suspensions. But, above all, he added a six online cylinders and 2.6 liters delivered 110 hp. That power jump and that engine were those that marked the future of their future. Taking advantage of the second generation of Toyota Celica, in 1982 the Toyota Celica supra would be launched in its second generation. The forms were now much more sharp and design decisions were included that would later be fully identifying, such as the sneakable headlights. The six -cylinder engine was maintained but the power rose to 145 hp. Although he added more centimeters along, the battle was shorter than that of his predecessor. Now, yes, he earned agility and, therefore, in sports sensations. The car had taken a qualitative leap in this regard. The qualitative success was received with open arms. Japanese industry in the 80s flew. American intervention after World War II helped the nation to be a country razed to One of the most leading countries of the world technologically. Potential clients earned so much money that everything accelerated and the Japanese car lived among product generations of just four years. Currently, a car has a commercial life of about seven years but at that time it was about putting a car on the market in less than a five years. Young people were looking for fast and powerful cars in which spend money. The bubble also provided cash for a fashion that took strength in the 80s, the Touge Street Racing. He Touge Street Racing or tōge They were illegal races that took advantage of the large mountain roads of the country to ascend or desce continued in the 90s. This is what we can see in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift but that became popular to the point of become its own culture, Anime included and with space in numerous racing video games. The perfect ingredients had entered the cocktailboard for Toyota to hurry the deadlines and in 1986 he launched the first completely independent version of the Toyota Supra. He returned for his fueros, with a six online cylinders that, this time, reached 200 hp of power. Later he would raise this power to 230 hp adding a turbo. The car was very fast but growing in size and power had begun to take forms of great tourism, a car with which to travel could be very quick but not as dynamic as you once. The solution went through giving it a little more spicy. How much? Transform it into a supercar. In 1990, Honda had launched the Honda NSXa car with which he intended to rival the best and at the same time positioning a car of very high benefits Without all those young people who had the money for punishment. Toyota’s response came in 1993 with Toyota Supra A80its most remembered generation. The Toyota Supra left its angular shapes behind and opted for the curves, with a huge rear axle and a spoiler that falls in love. Under the hood he kept a six online 3.0 -liter cylinders that in its biuturbo version reached 324 hp and that delighted the trainers. Because the car became a … Read more

China is advancing at breakneck speed in nuclear fusion. It already has something ready that until now only the Netherlands had

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The path to a destination as challenging as it is nuclear fusion commercial must necessarily be full of small conquests. Of achievements that may seem modest, but that, in reality, are milestones that put us a little closer of an ambitious objective that seeks nothing more than to help us solve our energy needs without continuing to emit greenhouse gases. In this context ITER attracts much of the attention. And it is understandable that this is so. After all, it is a project of enormous magnitude, which is also led by the European Union. In fact, this organization is jointly assuming approximately 50% of the total cost of a plan in which the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and South Korea also participate. However, the public commitment to nuclear fusion is not condensed solely into ITER. And it is not limited only to the European Union either. Not at all. Europe is signing up very important scientific milestonesbut there are other countries that are also bidding very high, and that, precisely, do not move in the orbit of the West. In fact, two of them, probably the most advantaged, are China and South Korea. China has a very sophisticated linear plasma generator to advance fusion In the field of nuclear fusion, plasma is the extremely hot gas that contains the nuclei of deuterium and tritium, the two isotopes of hydrogen, which are involved in the reaction. For these nuclei to overcome their natural electrical repulsion and the strong nuclear interaction to fuse them, they must acquire a very high kinetic energy. And this is only possible if the plasma reaches a temperature equal to or greater than 150 million degrees Celsius. As we can guess, very few known materials are capable of withstanding such a high temperature. However, this is not all. When a deuterium nucleus fuses with a tritium nucleus, they produce a helium nucleus and a neutron that is ejected with an energy of about 14 MeV (megaelectronvolts). The problem is that the neutron lacks a net electrical charge, so it cannot be confined inside the magnetic field which, however, does manage to retain the deuterium and tritium nuclei, which have a positive electrical charge. The components that will be most affected by the direct impact of high-energy neutrons and the most intense heat flow are the inner wall of the vacuum chamber and the mantle. This is the reason why when it originates as a result of the nuclear fusion reaction, this neutron is ejected towards the walls of the vacuum chamber with enormous energy. This particle is very important because in practice it will be closely linked to the production of electrical energy in nuclear fusion reactors, but, at the same time, it represents a very aggressive form of radiation that can significantly degrade the materials used in the reactor. . The components that will be most affected by the direct impact of high-energy neutrons and the most intense heat flow are the inner wall of the vacuum chamber and the blanketwhich is a mantle that covers it and whose purpose is regenerate tritium which is necessary to use as fuel in the nuclear fusion reaction. This is why it is crucial to develop new materials that are able to withstand the neutron flux and therefore ensure that the reactor will have a long operational life. Until now, only the Netherlands had a device capable of generating a high-flow plasma similar to what occurs in the vacuum chamber of a nuclear fusion reactor. But now China has it too. The Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences has successfully built a highly advanced linear plasma generator capable of accurately recreating the extreme conditions found inside fusion reactors. Its purpose is to use it to test candidate materials to be used in vacuum chamber constructionfor which it is essential to subject them to the interaction of plasma. Fortunately, China has confirmed that this machine will be available for international collaboration. Image | Hefei Institutes of Physical Science More information | Hefei Institutes of Physical Science In Xataka | Spain’s milestone in nuclear fusion: the first plasma produced by the SMART reactor invites us to optimism

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