World’s biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor inaugurated in Japan
The JT-60SA reactor is a six-storey-high machine, which is kept in a hangar in Naka north of Tokyo
The world’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion reactor, The JT-60SA has officially started its operations in Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture on Friday. This new nuclear fusion reactor is a joint initiative between the European Union and Japan is a brand new technology that is being called as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs by establishing nuclear fusion as a clean energy source.
A press release by the European Commission for Energy mentioned that during the inauguration ceremony, the EU and Japan “underlined their support for the operation and technical upgrades of JT-60SA to continue producing groundbreaking research results”. The reactor is a six-storey-high machine, which is kept in a hangar in Naka north of Tokyo and comprises of a doughnut-shaped “tokamak” vessel that is set to contain swirling plasma heated up to 200 million degrees Celsius.
The JT-60SA is a forerunner to the under-construction International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France. JT-60SA and ITER both are to coax hydrogen nuclei inside to fuse into one heavier element, helium, releasing energy in the form of light and heat. However, while the JT-60SA has become functional, ITER is severely behind schedule, over budget and is facing major technical problems.
Sam Davis, who is the deputy project leader for the JT-60SA, said the device will “bring us closer to fusion energy”. At Friday’s inauguration, Davis said: “It’s the result of a collaboration between more than 500 scientists and engineers and more than 70 companies throughout Europe and Japan.”
As quoted by the news agency AFP, EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said the JT-60SA was “the most advanced tokamak in the world”, calling the start of operations “a milestone for fusion history”. “Fusion has the potential to become a key component for energy mix in the second half of this century,” Simson added.
You might also be intersted in – Russia rehearses ‘nuclear strike‘, set to withdraw from nuclear ban treaty
