Scientists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory under the U.S. Department of Energy have made an advancement in nuclear fusion technology, which brings them closer to realizing their goal to harness limitless energy. Nuclear fusion occurs when light atoms are merged together to create charged particles, known as plasma, that in turn create enormous amounts of energy. This latest breakthrough will make initiating and maintaining nuclear fusion easier.
Researchers have long been working to understand the mechanism that would allow them to harness nuclear energy. Scientists in this lab discovered that including resistivity’s physical property into a mathematical model that had been updated could help create more effective tokamaks designs. Tokamaks are fusion facilities that are doughnut shaped and use charged particles to create nuclear fusion.
Nathaniel Ferraro, a physicist in the lab who was also involved in the study, stated that resistivity was the property of a substance that impeded electricity flow. The research also found that resistivity could also cause plasma edge instability, which would lead to an increase in pressures and temperatures. Scientists are now focused on incorporating resistivity into more stable fusion facility system models that can be used to predict how plasma will behave.
Andreas Kleiner, the author of the study, stated that the researchers would use the knowledge they acquired to find out how to create a model that would enable them to include certain characteristics of plasma and forecast if the plasma would be stable before they could actually conduct an experiment.
The scientists will also work to prevent plasma eruptions and edge-localized models that may wear down the internal parts of tokamaks over time. This will, in turn, make it possible for future advanced fusion reactors to operate without the need for repairs every few months.
Many countries are also working to advance in this area, with International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) focused on constructing the biggest symbol of nuclear fusion ever. ITER made up of 35 nations, but is primarily run by seven member entities: the United States, China, Russia, the European Union, South Korea, Japan and India.
China on its own has also made significant progress in the fusion technology field. In December 2020, the country’s capital successfully charged its artificial sun nuclear fusion reactor for its maiden time. Since then, China has made various advancements in research, with a team of researchers recently claiming to have created a power plant that could convert fusion energy into electricity, which would make it the first of its kind globally.
Uranium mining companies such as Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) will be following these developments in nuclear fusion closely since these advancements could open up new use cases for the yellow metal these companies produce.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/UUUU
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