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Page added on September 3, 2016
This ‘Star in a Jar’ Could Produce a Nearly Unlimited Supply of Energy
Fusion energy has long been heralded as the power-supply of the future, but the sad joke is, it always will be. The experimental energy source is perennially 30 years away from being viable on a mass-scale. Still, fusion energy could provide us with a low-cost, sustainable energy resource—if only physicists could figure out how to harness the power of the Sun on Earth.
This dream of a sustainable “star in a jar” was brought one step closer to reality this month by physicists at the Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, who demonstrated how the design for a new type of “jar” could lead to the first commercially viable nuclear fusion power plant.
Fusion power is essentially the result of fusing the nuclei of two or more lighter atoms into one heavier nucleus, a process which releases massive quantities of energy and is perhaps best demonstrated by our Sun, the natural nuclear fusion reactor par excellence.
During the process of nuclear fusion, atoms’ electrons are separated from their nuclei thereby creating a super hot cloud of electrons and ions (the nuclei minus their electrons) known as plasma.
The problem with this energy rich plasma is figuring out how to contain it, since it exists at extremely high temperatures (up to 150 million degrees Celsius, or ten times the temperature at the Sun’s core). Any material you can find on Earth isn’t going to make a very good jar.
To solve this problem, some Russian physicists back in the 1950s developed a device called a “tokamak,” which uses magnetic fields to contain the plasma generated through nuclear fusion. Conventional tokamaks are shaped like a donut, but recent design improvements have led to the creation of spherical tokamaks, which are shaped more like a cored apple and are able to generate magnetic fields to produce high-pressure plasma in a more energy- and cost-effective manner.
The two most advanced spherical tokamaks on Earth are the UK’s soon-to-be-completed Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) and the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL), which came online last year. As PPPL physicists demonstrated in their recent paper in Nuclear Fusion,the spherical tokamak design is a leading candidate for the creation of a fusion nuclear science facility (FNSF), which would bridge the gap between ITER, which will be the world’s largest nuclear fusion experiment when it comes online in a few years, and a commercially viable nuclear fusion power plant.
Before a pilot FNSF could become viable as a commercial power plant, there are a number of design challenges that need to be solved, which are addressed in the new paper. For starters, the particles in the superhot plasma created in the tokamak are very turbulent, as a result of the magnetic field used to contain them. So figuring out a way to channel them around the tokamak more effectively is key. Physicists also must experiment with the materials used to build the walls of the tokamak to ensure the purity of the plasma particles which will inevitably interact with it.
Another key design consideration for a pilot FNSF would be replacing the large copper magnet coils used by conventional tokamaks by superconducting magnets which can generate higher magnetic fields while requiring less power to cool them.
While these design considerations look good on paper, the physicists conclude that the experiments conducted at MAST and the PPPL’s spherical tokamak in the coming years will ultimately reveal the path to the compact, energy-efficient, commercially viable nuclear fusion plant of the future.
32 Comments on "This ‘Star in a Jar’ Could Produce a Nearly Unlimited Supply of Energy"
Cloggie on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 9:35 am
Who would have thought in 1940 that you can destroy a city with material with the size of a tennis ball.
Never say never.
But we first we are going to have at least 30 years of renewable energy as that at least does work.
rockman on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 10:02 am
“But we first we are going to have at least 30 years of renewable energy as that at least does work.” Actually we’ve had renewable poo-poo energy for hundreds of years. LOL. But the problem remains the same: magnitude. The alt energy folks just love to go on and on about the lower OPERATIONAL cost of alts but intentionally ignore the infrastructure replacement cost.
“Long before climate change created a new impetus to capture biogas on a large scale, Chinese farmers were using biogas as a source of rural energy. The traditional digester is essentially an underground pit for food waste, animal manure, and human feces. It can’t store excess gas the way a modern digester can, but it’s fine for cooking and heating. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates about 35 million small digesters are in use in rural areas of China today.”
penury on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 10:11 am
Another “pie in the sky” everything will be marvelous, trust us hopium article. Everything will not be OK. This time it really will decay, I promise.
Cloggie on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 10:31 am
“Actually we’ve had renewable poo-poo energy for hundreds of years.LOL”
Without poo-poo energy you wouldn’t be so upbeat making fun from Texas or wherever you currently are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT9YKjn67Og
“But the problem remains the same: magnitude. The alt energy folks just love to go on and on about the lower OPERATIONAL cost of alts but intentionally ignore the infrastructure replacement cost.”
You seem to have a point (that I don’t ignore):
Siemens will complete a new 6-8 MW wind turbine plant in Cuxhaven, northern Germany, but now the German government is pushing the brakes for new offshore installations for the reason that there are not enough cables to transport the electricity inland. Siemens is not amused and feels betrayed:
http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-08/sigmar-gabriel-mecklenburg-vorpommern-wahlen
But, no offense to the Danes, but if they can do it…
http://tinyurl.com/hnvezaq
…why can’t other western countries do it as well? Denmark is still one of the richest countries in Europe, although somewhat inflated by higher prices.
Energy independence in my opinion is worth a higher price.
Cloggie on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 10:36 am
Posted the wrong article about temporarily calling off offshore windenergy expansion:
http://www.cn-online.de/stadt-land/news/dunkle-wolken-ueber-offshore-wind.html
(German)
Davy on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 10:41 am
Sure Clog, everyone wants energy independence. How high a price is the key and a point you discount too strongly. You don’t want to allow for the basis of energy and that is the economy to interfere in your calculations too much. There is more to it than price when considering limits. There is also capabilities and scale of those capabilities. We could probably do many thing but are they valid and good investments. Good investments not only in the market sense but the existential systematic sense.
eugene on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 11:01 am
Hopes and dreams.
shortonoil on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 12:24 pm
It looks like if the world had put as much money into cold fusion, zero point energy, or hamster powered fly wheels we would be much closer to solving the energy quagmire we are in.
Politicians don’t need an excuse to piss away our wealth, just an opportunity! Then again where would all these “brilliant” minds find $150,000 per year jobs? So let’s pay them on a performance basis, and see how long they last. Then we would see some real “stars in a jug”.
Anonymous on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 12:38 pm
This ‘Star in a Jar’ Could Produce a Nearly Unlimited Supply of Energy
Actually, no, it can’t.
We’ve had ‘Nearly unlimited’ energy, in the form of fossil-fuels, hydro, and nuclear fission, for over a century. And look what we did with that energy? Did we make a better world, solve all our pressing problems with it? LoL, no! We used to engorge and enrich(a few of us), expand our numbers all out of proportion , and created an enduring environmental crisis that is in the process of wrecking the planet’s life-support systems itself.
Again, reading crap like this, I wonder just what ‘problems’ VICE excpects what would be, the most expensive electricity ever produced, to solve?
GDI on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 12:59 pm
30 years ago, they said it was 30 years away. I think it will be 30 years away again in 30 years time.
Bob on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 1:09 pm
If we had spent all this fusion money on solar/wind, we would have fusion power by now – Sun fusion power! This Earth-bound fusion power has been a money rat-hole for my entire lifetime – and I am getting old! When will it end?
Robert Jansen on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 1:14 pm
The first time I was informed that controlled fusion was 5 years away was in September of 1972.
It would be much more illuminating if the articles on the topic would simply inform the reader whether or not there has been any progress towards acheiving the Lawson criteria and if so, how much.
onlooker on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 1:44 pm
If we could produce unlimited energy that would just spur us to create an even more humongous world destroying economy and continue to breed like rabbits. What we need is to downsize our urges, our expectations and our affinity for technology and material pursuits. Instead lets just focus on being better human beings, it seems that is tough enough.
shortonoil on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 1:54 pm
“the Lawson criteria and if so, how much. “
There has been a group of private nuclear engineers that have been saying for years that the process that they are trying to use just will not work. It could be, that they are right? The minds behind this are so invested in what they have done so far that they refuse to acknowledge that some engineer could be right, and that they are wrong.
It seems to me that this is just another special interest, political boondoggle. Supposedly, according to the Chinese Ministry of Truth they have accomplished a sustained reaction for 30 seconds. Even though that is 30 times better than any ongoing project, it still leaves a little to be desired after 30 years of investment. If this was a private project they would have had their butts booted out the door years ago. Fusion may be possible, but it is obviously not going to come from any government supported project.
So let’s boot these clowns and turn it over to some firm that understands the words “budget” and “schedule”.
Anonymous on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 2:10 pm
short, your neo-liberal is showing, again.
“Fusion may be possible, but it is obviously not going to come from any government supported project.”
I agree, fusion *may* be technically feasible(some century? lol), but the idea some private, for-profit corporation will come riding along to controlled fusions rescue and show all those teat-sucking, taxpayer funded fusion researchers how to get things done right(ya know, fast and cheap), in the ‘private sector’, is laughable, sorry.
It is not ‘obvious’ at all, fusions end goal will be ‘solved’ by for-profit corps, or even by anyone period. So I not sure what makes you think its so glaringly ‘obvious’. The current system of leaky nuclear fission plants, hydro dams, the entire oil industry, coal etc, ALL underwritten, and a lot of its research resources provided and backstopped by guess who?
Government.
shortonoil on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 2:24 pm
“I agree, fusion *may* be technically feasible(some century? lol), but the idea some private, for-profit corporation will come riding along to controlled fusions rescue and show all those teat-sucking, taxpayer funded fusion researchers how to get things done right(ya know, fast and cheap), in the ‘private sector’, is laughable, sorry. “
If this was a private firm trying to build a fusion reactor, and it didn’t work, they wouldn’t still be pouring $10s of billions down a rat hole. Like I said, these clowns don’t understand the words “budget” or “schedule”, just the words “hand me some more money”.
dave thompson on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 2:38 pm
Lets pretend one of these things is built and shows it can put out electric power. So what? How many would we need to replace FF energy? At what cost? How would we transfer the power to run cross country trucking? Over the ocean shipping? Jet travel and over night air shipping? Even auto travel is questionable when it comes to EV’s. There is nothing in the works at this time that is replacing what FF energy does for modern civilization and transportation, nothing.
rockman on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 2:39 pm
Cloggie – I should have been more clear. Not commercial size magnitude (like the Germans and Texans) but individual homeowner size alt projects. I agree: if Texas, the largest oil and coal producing state, can build out a world class alt energy system there’s no reason why some other states couldn’t. Look ADT the decades long resistance to just one relatively small windfarm off the New England coast. A coastline of an area that imports a significant portion of its energy. I’ve detailed before it just took cooperation between Texas politicians, voters, commercial and environmental interests.
Anonymous on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 2:44 pm
Here is the ‘short’ list of rat-holes the uS (gov) pours billions of taxpayer dollars into with zero thought to the words ‘budget’, or ‘schedule’. Last time I checked, the uS is running 19 trillion in the red. While it would fair to say, not all of that 19T went to oil and coal corporations, they certainly command a non-trivial share of that debt and subsidies\permanent corporate welfare. Makes the billions given to ‘fusion research’ look like an afterthought, a rounding error wouldn’t you agree? I would never suggest fusion is money well spent, but, the funds directed at fusion are trivial compared to the corporate welfare that goes to for-profit oil, coal, fission corporations in the uS empire and its puppet states.
Recipients of Trillions(with a T), in corporate welfare in the uS and its satellite states.
-Coal
-Nuclear(fission)
-Oil (all flavors)
ron val on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 2:46 pm
We’ve been only a decade away from fusion since 1960. In another 50 years we’ll still be a decade away. But sooner or later those who state it’s only a decade away will be right
Cloggie on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 2:56 pm
“Look ADT the decades long resistance to just one relatively small windfarm off the New England coast.”
The same in Germany. It is not that the Germans can’t cough up the money; for several years now they run surpluses on the federal level. The real reason is the public resistance against huge new high voltage cables running north to south:
https://beta.welt.de/wirtschaft/article124566011/Diese-Mega-Trasse-wird-Deutschland-teilen.html
Richard Sittel on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 3:02 pm
Unfortunately solar and wind are going to be so cheap in just 10 years that no new centralized power stations will ever be built. The grid will be used to collect excess power from all of the homes and sell it to businesses. Homeowners will be manufacturing their own products to sell with their extra power as well…
Davy on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 3:19 pm
Richard, that’s a great story for a Hollywood drama. Sounds like a happy ending with no worries. I Love the thought of it for my kids. There must be a catch, right?
Go Speed Racer on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 3:20 pm
The Spherical Tokomak has an unusually good conversion coefficient, Lambda. This is the percentage of tax revenue from the private sector 1040 forms, that is actually converted into net take home pay for the researcher. It is not reaching the theoretical limit of 1, but it comes close.
Other than the really good Lambda, spherical tokamak does NOT generate power.
The next thing is, there is no star in a jar, because the sun has such uniquely high core pressure, and such incredibly large volume, you will never have the solar fusion process on Earth. It only generates several watts per cubic meter, less than what is delivered by an old school Christmas tree bulb. The fusion method for earthly science welfare fusion, is entirely different from solar fusion. Do your internet research.
Last, the ‘Stellarator’ is a shape that might actually work. It was late to the party because it’s tougher to design and build, needing s lot more computerized CAD and machining. All the Lambda is dangerously low causing the researchers to have to drive older Toyota’s, it does have the best core temperatures due to the twisting plasma shape.
Rather than tell me how stupid I am, instead you all can Google the Stellarator.
Lex loeb on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 3:22 pm
we have fusion power already. We have small tactical fusion weapons already. We create a large vitrified cavern underground with nuclear testing and then we drop successive small devices down the hole into the cavern and boil water at the surface and around the cavern walls to create a geyser of steam above that runs turbines. Deep enough in the earth we know that the neutrons are absorbed, we have tested underground for years and know what happens and how it works and how insanely easy it is to contain radiation flash and the chain reaction. successive fusion bombs go down the hole and an aquifer keeps water on hand and the turbines will not stop spinning.
Richard Sittel on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 4:34 pm
@ Davy, Do a Google search for “God Parity” and do some reading. Others are predicting it will come sooner than 10 years. It’s when the price of delivering the power to your home is higher than what you can generate it on your own roof. It’s a reality in Australia already and Hawaii as well. It’s not reliant on any new breakthroughs, just the economy of scale and minor technological advancements. In other words you can bank on it.
ARCADIUS on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 7:21 pm
WITH ALL THAT FREE ENERGY, PLANET WILL HEAT UP FAST.
Joe D on Sat, 3rd Sep 2016 9:37 pm
“physicists conclude that the experiments conducted……..in the coming years will ultimately reveal the path to the compact, energy-efficient, commercially viable nuclear fusion plant of the future.”
Conclude on the basis of what? Their hopes and dreams?
Or concluded on the need for more funding?
With a catch phrase of “Star in a Jar”, I’m going with funding.
Cold Fusion impossible? Most physicists think so.
All of my physics professors scoffed at the notion.
Cold Fusion and Carl Sagan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BemTGkjl6U
shortonoil on Sun, 4th Sep 2016 7:35 am
“Here is the ‘short’ list of rat-holes the uS (gov) pours billions of taxpayer dollars into with zero thought to the words ‘budget’, or ‘schedule’.”
Makes a lot of sense; since the US Government is wasting so much money on so many “rat holes” let’s just add another one. Is this the same type of logic that the CBs are be using. Got a $zillion in debt, no problem, just add another $zillion. Is there any possibility that this is the same type of logic that put us in the situation we are presently in? Apparently these advanced thought processes are more than most can understand? We should definitely leave it to the “brilliant” minds. They will be solving all of our problems in another 10 years, or 20, or 30! Just keep filling up the collection plate, and you will be saved!
jjhman on Sun, 4th Sep 2016 1:37 pm
Blaming the scientists for the jillions of dollars spent on energy projects is equivalent to blaming scientists for the furor over global warming.
Scientists do science. It is the political types that decide where the money goes. Who can blame a scientist for taking on truly fascinating science projects? that’s what they do and it is why there are so many interesting technical goodies in modern society.
And, again, it is those of us who use electricity and respond to the advertisements for a better life through buying things that need to be plugged in that creates the pressure to hire the scientists to build the things….
As Pogo said….well we all know what Pogo said.
Go Speed Racer on Mon, 5th Sep 2016 1:50 am
I would like to be a government researcher
exploring fusion technology.
I would evaluate how much effect the
skin color has on how much cocaine
can be snorted off a hooker’s tits.
I would require at least 12 months data
gathering and a steady supply of hookers
and cocaine.
Also peripheral lab supplies such as
a well equipped bar, icemaker, waterbed and
a good stereo system.
I would put all that into the budget.
And a fast car, necessary expense.
Kenz300 on Thu, 8th Sep 2016 10:42 am
Wind, solar and geothermal continue to grow in use every year while fossil fuel use declines………..
Climate Change will be the defining issue of our lives…
23 States to Rely on Geothermal, Solar, or Wind Power as a Primary Source of Electric Generation in 2016
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/09/23-states-to-rely-on-geothermal-solar-or-wind-power-as-a-primary-source-of-electric-generation-in-2016.html