Summary: The United States nuclear fusion major breakthrough, Chengdu also has its own " artificial sun ". According to media reports on December 11, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, USA, have realized a nuclear fusion reactor (NIF, National Ignition Facility) from an experimental nuclear fusion reactor. net energy gain, fusion reaction produces about 2.5 MJ of energy, about 120% of the 2.1 MJ energy consumed by the laser. [The net energy gain means that the energy produced by the fusion reaction is greater than the energy injected from the outside. Generally speaking, it means that a positive energy output is produced, which has the value of actually generating actual energy]. If this experiment is further verified to be true, it will be the first major breakthrough in nuclear fusion to achieve net energy gain!
As soon as the news was released, it stirred up waves, and the technology circles were cheering for a major breakthrough. But the more realistic situation is that even if the experiment is successful, it is only a milestone in nuclear fusion research, and the commercial application of nuclear fusion may still take decades to complete .
Technical approach and route of nuclear fusion
The sun is undergoing nuclear fusion reactions all the time, but the conditions for its occurrence are high temperatures of 15 million degrees and 200 billion atmospheric pressures. It is almost impossible to achieve a pressure of 200 billion atmospheres on the earth, but it is feasible to achieve a higher temperature. Therefore, in order to produce fusion , the temperature can only be higher, reaching hundreds of millions of degrees, and it must be sustainable. Thus, two difficulties of controllable nuclear fusion are drawn out. One, how do you heat fusion materials to such high temperatures? Second, what kind of container is used to hold such a high temperature fusion material? Considering a nuclear fusion reactor as a furnace, the first question is equivalent to "how to ignite it", and the second question is equivalent to "how to ensure that the furnace will not be burned through".
answered the first question, inertial constraint laser ignition is a way of thinking. Put the fusion fuel inside a projectile, irradiate the projectile with a super-strong laser, instantly reach a high temperature, evaporate the outer wall of the projectile, and squeeze the nuclear fuel inward. Experimental devices such as the "National Ignition Device" of the United States and the "Shenguang-III" of China have followed this path.
is the answer to the second question, magnetic confinement is a train of thought. The fusion fuel is made into plasma ( nuclei and electrons are separated and can flow freely), and the plasma is confined by a super-strong magnetic field, so that they are suspended in the air and rotate at high speed without direct contact with the container. China Circulator No. 2 M (HL-2M), EAST and other tokamak devices are taking this road.
There is a third way, gravitational constraint . The sun produces nuclear fusion every day. In fact, there are many stars like the sun, which have a large mass and a very high internal pressure. Through their own huge gravitational force, the nuclear fuel is bound together. In an environment of extreme high temperature and high pressure, the nuclear fuel is very prone to nuclear fusion. This route is currently unattainable for humans.
Therefore, inertial confinement and magnetic confinement are the two major technological routes of the international mainstream nuclear fusion research.
Nuclear fusion research in China
Nuclear fusion technology is considered the "holy grail" of clean energy. China naturally invested heavily in this direction. At present, three research teams have formed: , is located in Southwest Institute of Physics of Nuclear Industry in Chengdu, , and the second is Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Hefei. The third is Mianyang China Academy of Engineering Physics Shenguang III project . The Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry and the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences adopt the magnetic confinement tokamak technology route, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics adopts the inertial confinement route.
Chinese Academy of Sciences Plasma PhysicsThe research institute is mainly engaged in high-temperature plasma physics, magnetic confinement nuclear fusion engineering technology and related high-tech research and development. Ring" (EAST, Advanced Superconducting Tokamak Experimental Device), in 2021, will achieve repeatable 120 million degree 101-second plasma operation and 160 million degree 20-second plasma operation.
China Academy of Engineering Physics " Shenguang-III" host device was designed in 2007 and completed in 2015. It is one of the typical devices of China's giant optical engineering. This marks that my country has fully mastered the core technologies of the second-generation giant laser device, such as general design, assembly, and general control. The overall scale and main performance of the whole device are second only to the NIF device of LLNL in the United States. The device is used for high energy density physics and inertial confinement fusion research. The work is mainly undertaken by the Laser Fusion Research Center of the China Academy of Engineering Physics, which is a comprehensive research institution specializing in the theory, experiment, design and production of inertial confinement fusion in my country. It is currently the only professional laser fusion research institute in China. The location also has a branch in Chengdu. "Shenguang-III" is quite special. It is not only used for nuclear fusion research, but also has other uses, which are not listed here.
The focus of this article is Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry in Chengdu.
History of the Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry
The Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry was established in the middle of the 1960s. With the support of relevant national ministries and commissions, relying on the nuclear industry system, after more than 40 years of hard work, it has relatively complete disciplines and related laboratories required for nuclear fusion energy research and development, and has undertaken and successfully completed the national "Fourth Five-Year Plan" major scientific projects. The project "Development of China's Circulator No. 1 Device" and the construction task of "China's Circulator No. 2 A (HL-2A) Device Engineering Construction Project" in the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" have achieved a number of innovative scientific research results and realized my country's nuclear fusion It is the first unit in the field of magnetic confinement nuclear fusion to win the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in the field of magnetic confinement nuclear fusion.
Nuclear Institute of Western Science and Technology is the core unit of fusion reactor research and development in the national nuclear energy "three-step" development strategy, and also an important support unit for my country's participation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program.
The Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology was originally located in the suburbs of Leshan City, Sichuan Province. During the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" period, some parts were moved to Chengdu. There are more than 1,700 employees and more than 1,100 scientific and technical personnel in the hospital, including 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 researchers, and 155 associate researchers and senior engineers.
Achievements of the Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry
The Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology has developed various types of magnetic confinement fusion research devices in more than 40 years, and has successfully built and operated the China Circulator No. 1 (HL-1), New No. 1 (HL-1M), No. 2 A (HL-2A), and No. 2 M (HL-2M) nuclear fusion research devices.
China Circulator No. 1 (HL-1) built in 1984 and China Circulator Xin No. 1 (HL-1M) built in 1994, two medium-sized tokamak devices and their experimental research results, represented the magnetic confinement fusion in my country at that time The level of experimental research is in the advanced ranks of devices of the same type and scale in the world, and important progress has been made on the road of exploring controllable nuclear fusion.
China's first tokamak device with divertor configuration China Circulator No. 2 A (HL-2A) was completed in 2002. HL-2A realizes high-constraint (H-mode) operation mode for the first time in a domestic tokamak device. The obtained plasma storage energy reaches 40kJ, the ion temperature reaches above 2.8keV, and the plasma confinement improvement factor reaches 2. This is our magneticA major milestone in the history of confinement fusion experimental research.
At 14:02 on December 4, 2020, a new generation of "artificial sun" device - China Circulator No. The design, construction and operation technology of the tokamak device has laid a solid foundation for the independent design and construction of my country's nuclear fusion reactor. The China Circulator No. 2 M device is currently the largest advanced tokamak device with the highest parameters in my country. It is a new generation of advanced magnetic confinement nuclear fusion experimental research device in my country. It adopts a more advanced structure and control method, and the plasma volume reaches the domestic level. There are more than 2 times the device, the plasma current capacity is increased to more than 2.5 megaamperes, and the plasma ion temperature can reach 150 million degrees. It can realize high density, high specific pressure, and high bootstrap current operation. It is a leapfrog in my country's nuclear fusion energy development. An important support device for development.
On the afternoon of October 19, 2021, China's latest generation of "artificial sun" (HL-2M) scientific research has made a breakthrough, the plasma current has successfully broken through 1 million amperes , created the highest and latest record of the device in my country .
The layout of the Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry in Chengdu
At present, the Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry has three campuses in Chengdu:
Base);
Science City, Tianfu New District, Chengdu (400 mu).
Judging from the current plan, the follow-up researchers will gradually gather in of Tianfu New District.
Prospects
Nuclear fusion technology is regarded as the "holy grail" of clean energy. The theoretically unlimited clean energy will bring a new technological revolution. All countries hope to have a major breakthrough in this direction, but nuclear fusion Research is a long-term project with large investment and long period, which cannot be supported by non-big countries. In general, China and the United States are making headway in nuclear fusion research, and China has made breakthroughs in high-parameter operation (operating temperature, holding time) and other aspects. The United States has taken a different approach in terms of net energy gain.
hope that there will be a real breakthrough so that the application of nuclear fusion is no longer "it will take another 50 years" !
Sichuan is a major province in the nuclear industry. Chengdu and Mianyang also have many nuclear-related national scientific research institutes. They have a fairly good foundation in nuclear technology and have great potential in the direction of nuclear fusion!
Participation information:
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