A new laser technology that could heat materials at temperatures higher than that of the interior of the sun could have significant effects for the world's energy production, experts said.
Using the principles of thermonuclear fusion, scientists from the Imperial College London proposed a heating mechanism that could expose objects to up to 10 million degree Celsius (50 million degree Fahrenheit) within 20 quadrillionths of a second.
The team of researchers found that when a high intensity laser is targeted on a material which contains a special particle combination, an electrostatic shockwave will be produced. The shockwave will directly heat ions in a rapid manner. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.
The technology is an attempt at replicating the sun's controlled fusion reaction, experts said. If successful, thermonuclear fusion could become the ultimate form of energy around the world.
Experts explained the many benefits of using thermonuclear fusion. First, energy from thermonuclear fusion is clean. It does not produce any greenhouse gases. This will be a great step towards the reduction of global warming.
Second, the energy is limitless and very inexpensive. The isotope deuterium that scientists use in experimental nuclear reactors can be distilled from seawater, and the isotope tritium can be harnessed within the reactor.
Third, nuclear fusion also does not have any chain reactions and can be easier to control than nuclear fission. The energy could also produce little to no nuclear waste, scientists said, and the core will remain radioactive for about a century.
However, experts said that the application of nuclear energy in the commercial scale is still highly unproven. Full scale production of the energy will not begin until 2050, and despite having a low fuel cost, commercial power plants for thermonuclear energy are extremely expensive.
The energy would also require higher levels of temperature that would be difficult to contain, but if cold fusion could be attained, scientists said it would be much easier to implement nuclear energy.
Meanwhile, scientists from the Stockholm Resilience Centre revealed one major reason why the application of nuclear fusion could be detrimental to the planet. These experts proposed nine planetary boundaries which limit human activity in connection to the Earth.
According to the proposal, scientists must also think about the connection of the use of nuclear fusion to nitrogen and phosphorus consumption and release, biological diversity, stratospheric ozone, freshwater availability, ocean acidification, land use change, chemical pollution, and aerosol loading in addition to climate change.
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