“Fusion, the nuclear process that lights up the sun, is the energy source of the future and always will be.”

The early morning trip to MIT turned out to be absolutely mind-blowing. Although we live in a technological world and it sometimes seems like nothing really can astonish our generation, the grandiose projects the scientists have undertaken at MIT even in 2016 still seem too modern and out of place because of their complexity and futuristic features.

The idea of breaking down nucleus and utilizing the energy that is released has fascinated the minds of scientific community since early 20th century. The further research in the area resulted in the whole new science of nuclear physics. Fission nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs were the two consecutive steps in the development of the science of nuclear physics.

However good fission nuclear reactors can be, they still tend to contaminate the land with the nuclear waste. Even if the amount of that waste is considered negligible, the risks of spilling radiation still exist, even if small. Fission nuclear reactors also proved to be dangerous if they are in the wrong hands. The human error in the nuclear power plants resulted in the two major tragedies: Chernobyl Accident and Fukushima Accident.

But what if one could devise a mechanism that would be as powerful and versatile as a fission nuclear reactor, and yet produce no nuclear waste and no potential dangers. That is exactly what the scientists around the world have been working on since early 1950’s.

If the idea of fission is to break down, then the idea of fusion is to create. In a nutshell, fusion is when two atomic nuclei come together and form a new nucleus. Because the mass of the two nuclei is less than the mass of the newly formed nucleus, there is also some energy created due to the famous Einstein equation, E=mc^2. However for fusion to occur, there should be a special set of conditions, which would offset the repulsive forces acting on the nuclei as they come closer together. Plasma, which is sometimes referred to as the fourth state of matter, is one answer to the question. We see plasma every day in neon lamps; the temperature there exceeds several thousand Celsius, but because of low density we do not feel it. In the reaction of fusion the actual temperature of plasma should be several million degrees Celsius. Only then the fusion can be achieved. The magnets are used to shape and contain plasma and avoid the meltdown. Tokamak, which is the Russian abbreviation for a toroidal chamber with magnetic coils, is one of the most efficient ways to confine plasma. A theoretical fusion reactor then should at least reach the break-even point (when the power input is equal to the power output) to prove its viability as a power generation technology. So far, the best result has been 60%, which is a sign of progress if compared to the early days of fusion reactors. The problem is that it takes a considerable amount of energy to heat up the gas to create plasma and then to operate the magnets. Also, the mechanisms themselves get extremely hot while transferring that much of electricity into the system, so the actual run-time of Alcator C-mod, for example, is 2 minutes.

Technological progress never stops, and a month ago Alcator C-mod was shut down to be reconstructed. The use of superconductors, which unlike traditional copper wires do not heat up and are much more compact, is said to be the next step in the development of future fusion reactors. The time to innovation in this sense is a function of funding. The optimistic scientists at MIT say that if everything goes well, then in the next thirty years, we are going to see another revolution in the energy generation industry.

To believe in fusion reactor project or not is a personal matter, but yet everyone should agree on that the research in this area produces a large number of useful technologies. An example of such is a thermometer that is used in fusion reactors for measuring the temperature of plasma; it is a potentially useful piece of technology, which can be implemented in some other industries. While it is still unclear whether scientists will be ever able to make the fusion reactor to work, the research in this area, which is socially beneficial in the way it inspires scientists to innovate, should continue.