Project 'artificial sun'

The ' artificial sun ' project that produces clean and safe sources of energy could end dependence on the dwindling fuel sources on earth.

Japan's LHD device looks like a snake swallowing its tail. (Photo: The Japan Times)

The headquarters of the ' artificial sun ' project is located outside the city of Toki in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. If successful, this science project will affect the lives of every resident on earth.

The project is worth the price

Large experimental device for fusion synthesis Large Helical Device (LHD) of the Japan National Fusion Science Institute (NIFS) is worth about $ 600,000. Until now, Japanese LHD equipment is the largest in the world. The spiral-type LHD device is a 13.5-meter-long, 9.1-meter-wide metal pipe, weighing 1,500 tons, designed to simulate the solar energy's fusion reaction. When this project is successful, it will end the period of human dependence on oil, and at the same time open an era of using cheap and never-exhausted energy.

The Japanese government is cutting down on large projects with high costs and even far-reaching science projects, such as the LHD project, which make such projects subject to budgetary pressures. However, according to the French expert of the International Atomic Energy Agency Denis Humbert, the LHD project is a worthwhile project. ' The budget for this project is really too small, about 18 billion USD for the next 20 years. Researching fusion plays an important role in many areas of new material research and nanotechnology. The most important thing is that when this project works, it will solve the energy problem of our planet '- The Japan Times newspaper quoted Denis Humbert.

Cheap, safe energy source

The goal of producing electricity from fusion reactors is still in the research and development stage. However, scientists hope to produce fusion power in the 30s of this century.

Mr. Hiroshi Yamada, CEO of NIFS, said: ' Burning helium and hydrogen to produce energy similar to the sun on earth means creating a temperature above 100 million degrees Celsius. This process produces the fourth, physical, liquid plasma, in addition to solid, liquid and gas . Stars, including the sun, are made up of this plasma. Plasma is naturally present in the Arctic or lightning, while artificial plasma is found in neon lights or plasma TV screens.

If the high temperature inside the LHD device contacts the device, it will melt the device wall. That is the biggest obstacle for researchers. They have to invent a material strong enough to withstand the heat from a fusion reaction, many times hotter than the sun. High temperature plasma produces strong and unstable reactions, damaging any device containing it if the device is made of existing materials.

With a combination of small amounts of lithium and deuterium, taken from 3 liters of seawater, a fusion reaction is equivalent to 22,000 KW of electricity generated. This amount is enough for a family in a developed country to live for a year.

Mr. Yamada proceeded to heat neon lights in the microwave. When he took it out, the light emitted violet light and when it touched, it felt warm. Mr. Yamada said: ' Thanks to the outer glass of the bulb, the plasma inside is cooled. When the same reaction takes place inside the sun, the sun's enormous gravitational force keeps the plasma from releasing directions . ' Therefore, it is impossible to have an industrial accident like the fear of some Toki city leaders.