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| Wed, 3rd Jun 2020 16:37:00 |
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The Big Boy Fusion Reactor Takes a Big Boy Step |
Engineers have installed the first and largest piece of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion project in France. The gigantic assembly begins with this piece, the steel base, which weighs more than 1,200 tons.
ITER has been in the works for 30 years. The experimental tokamak fusion reactor—a nuclear fusion plasma reactor where extremely hot, charged plasma spins and generates virtually limitless energy—is one of a handful of extremely costly "miniature suns" around the world. The tokamak is on track to switch on in 2025, and then the reactor will begin to heat up to temperatures hot enough to induce nuclear fusion. That will take years.
So ... baby steps. Making this single part, which is 30 meters high and 30 meters wide, has taken 10 full years by itself. It's the base of the cryostat, which is the supercooling chamber that enables the rest of the reactor to function. The life of the cryostat began in India, where massive tech conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd began fabricating and welding portions of it under ITER's Indian Domestic Agency's supervision.
In 2015, the partial assemblage was brought to France, where more assembly and work began in 2016 and lasted until late 2019. At that point, the ITER home team took over. Now, the chamber is ready to begin assembly, starting with the base. The whole thing will be 3,850 tons, with mostly hollow—but absolutely gigantic—steel cylinder sections that form the outside of the cryostat.
Read original full article
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