- JET is a large tokamak that was the first device to produce controlled fusion power with deuterium and tritium situated in the United Kingdom.
- A tokamak is a machine that confines a plasma using magnetic fields in a donut shape
- Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy.
- Advantages of Nuclear Fusion
- No carbon emissions as the only by-products are small amounts of helium.
- Abundant fuels such as Deuterium can be extracted from water.
- Reliable power as they continue to produce energy for longer periods.
- Challenges
- High temperature required- as per IAEA, temperatures of over 100 million degrees Celsius are required to make deuterium and tritium fuse.
- Neutron radiation during the reaction can travel tens of centi-meters out into the containment structure.
- India Initiatives
- Joined the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in 2005, a global initiative attempting to build the world’s largest tokamak reactor.
- The Institute of Plasma Research (IPR) is an autonomous institute under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) leads the Indian program in Fusion.