There is a chemical element that some consider better than hydrogen and produce more energy: liquid lithium. It could be the key to energy of merger. New experiments have shown that it may be easier to use nuclear fusion as a source energy when liquid lithium is applied to the inner walls of the device containing the fusion plasma. Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is a hot gas composed of electrically charged particles.
The scientists of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are working on solutions to efficiently harness the power of nuclear fusion to be a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels. They often use devices called tokamaksthat confine the plasma based on magnetic fields.
“The purpose of these devices is to limit energy,” he explains. Dennis Boyle, research physicist at PPPL in a statement. And he adds: “If there were much better energy control, the machines could be made smaller and cheaper. “That would make everything much more practical and profitable, so that governments and industry would want to invest more in it.”
These discoveries were presented at a meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society and are part of the Experimento Beta Tokamak de Litio (LTX beta). This research is also published in the journal Nuclear materials and energy.
Advances in liquid lithium may keep hydrogen on the back burner
Recent findings have shown that a layer of liquid lithium is deposited on the inside of the wall of the body tokamak It kept the plasma at the edge warm. Maintaining a hot edge is critical to your unique approach. Scientists hope it will one day contribute to the design of one energy of merger.
This material, which some consider better than hydrogenhas already been investigated in other studies with LTX beta. These experts analyzed solid lithium coatings and it was discovered that the plasma could be improved. The researchers were pleased that they achieved similar results with liquid lithium, as it is more suitable for use in a tokamak on a large scale.
Liquid lithium could reduce the need for repairs, a situation that would arise because it would act as a shield for the internal walls of the device when exposed to the heat of the plasma. This material absorbed about 40% of the ions hydrogen that came from the plasma. Data showing that fewer particles were recycled back into the plasma as relatively cold neutral gas.
Why might liquid lithium be better than hydrogen?
When experts talk about a low recycling environment, they mean this precisely because many of the hydrogen When they are expelled from the plasma, they are not recycled. Therefore, the edge of the plasma would cool. Ultimately, this low recycling environment meant that the temperature at the edge of the plasma was closer to the temperature at the center of the plasma. This homogeneity in temperature should ensure that the plasma retains heat better than if liquid lithium had not been used. This way of working avoids a large number of instabilities.
Liquid lithium also allowed an increase in plasma density when a beam of fast neutral particles was injected. energy to heat and feed the plasma. On the other hand, solid lithium showed only a small increase in density. When a neutral beam was used, the ions of hydrogen aggregates expel the ions from hydrogen that were already in the plasma in a process called charge exchange.
The researchers believe the main difference is because a small amount of lithium evaporated from the liquid walls of the reactor and entered the plasma. This lithium impurity in the plasma transformed the charge exchange dynamics and caused the plasma to retain lithium ions. hydrogen added by the neutral beam without removing other ions hydrogenresulting in an overall increase in plasma density.