Nuclear Fusion: Three Mile Island And Chernobyl Disasters

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Nuclear fusion can be generally defined as when two atoms fuse to form a larger atom with a larger mass, yielding a large amount of energy in the process. Providing energy from this process is one of the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century. (NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering) When mentioning nuclear fusion, one should immediately think of the reaction occurring in the suns in our galaxy. In their hydrogen spheres, conditions are favorable for nuclear fusion. The sun is able to use the force of gravity and centripetal acceleration to achieve the high temperatures and pressures required to fuse two hydrogen atoms into helium that normal conditions on Earth do not permit. The simplest way this process occurs is a deuterium-tritium …show more content…
However, the bomb would use fission to “trigger” the fusion process. This could be considered a risk because it very obviously creates a bomb; however, should this be used it would be a calculated decision made for drastic measures. (ChemWiki – UC Davis) Based upon that fact, many governments are not very open to the idea of establishing new nuclear facilities in their countries, especially with the Fukushima Daiichii disaster in Japan and the more ancient Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters. However, not all countries are shying away from the prospects of nuclear energy. France derives 75% of its daily electricity use from nuclear fission reactors and is anticipating the opening of the experimental ITER nuclear fusion reactor in the …show more content…
Energy Information Administration reports that in 2014, 67% of the electricity generated was from fossil fuels. 39% of the fossil fuels being from coal and another 28% being from natural gas. Not only is this not sustainable, but the by-products created due to the process of getting energy from fossil fuels does significant damage to Earth and its atmosphere. (EIA) Water is the main component when it comes to the future of fusion on Earth, as deuterium can be easily synthesized from any water source. The tritium would be obtained from lithium, which is another extremely common element on earth. Further, the process would yield more energy per gallon than the gasoline counterpart. “One out of every 6,500 atoms of hydrogen in ordinary water is deuterium, giving a gallon of water the energy content of 300 gallons of gasoline” (American Nuclear Society). Fusion would provide a safer and cleaner world by providing a cleaner and more efficient use of energy. Helium is the only byproduct of the process and does not add to atmospheric pollution. There is also no long-lived radioactive waste from this reaction, but the nuclear waste would need to be monitored for the future. The Culham Centre for Fusion Energy reports, “Only plant components become radioactive and these will be safe to recycle or dispose of conventionally within 100
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