International Thermonuclear Energy Reactor

Additionally, two other reactors, the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) for which the location is under negotiation, and the Tokamak Physics Experiment at PPPL, Princeton, New Jersey, are proposed. The most impressive advances have been obtained on the three biggest tokamaks, TETR, JET, andJT-60, which are located in the United States, Europe, and Japan, respectively. As of this writing fusion energy development in the United States is dependent on federal binding (10—12). 

Fusion has already been achieved in several devices, but not beyond the break-even point, where the amount of energy produced is the same as the amount consumed. Much basic research is still required and is the focus of a number of international collaborative efforts. As discussed in Chapter 4, foremost among these efforts is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which will be a scale-up of the Princeton Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor shown in Figure 19.17. 

As opposed to nuclear fission, nuclear fusion is the reaction when two light atomic nuclei fuse together, forming a heavier nucleus. That nucleus releases energy. So far, fusion power generators bum more energy than they create. However, that may change with the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Southern France. To be completed in 2016 at a cost of about 11.7 billion, the reactor is a pilot project to show the world the feasibility of full-scale fusion power. 

Fusion power would not have the drawbacks associated with fission power, but no commercial fusion reactor is expected before 2050. In 2005, an international consortium consisting of the European Union, Japan, USA, Russia, South Korea, India, and China announced the 10 billion ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project, which will be built in France to show within 30 years the technical feasibility of fusion power. Proposed fusion reactors use deuterium as fuel and in current designs also lithium. Assuming a fusion energy output equal to today s global need, the lithium reserves would last 3000 years. 

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