Iter's main vessel will weigh more that 23,000 tonnes—three times the Eiffel tower. And the project will cost at least $20bn
south-east France, is known for its pleasant weather, ratatouille and thickly wooded mountainsides. But it is also the site of what will be, if and when finished, one of the most complicated machines ever built. Iter will be a giant fusion reactor of a type called a tokamak. It will have over 1m components. Its main vessel will weigh more than 23,000 tonnes—three times the Eiffel tower. And it will cost at least $20bn.
For the optimistic, Iter is an example of how people from around the world can collaborate to achieve a lofty long-term ambition. For cynics, it is a boondoggle plagued by delays , questionable management and ballooning costs .It may, however, have emerged from its long, dark teatime of the soul. Bernard Bigot, a physicist who used to run France’s Atomic Energy Commission, and who has been director-general of the project since 2015, has shaken things up.
Those first experiments, whenever they actually happen, will study the physics of deuterium-tritium plasmas in the reactor—these two isotopes of hydrogen being the front-running candidates as the fuel mixture for nuclear fusion. Only after a decade of such work will fusion experiments proper begin. The aim is to return at least ten times as much energy from nuclear reactions as is used to heat the plasma up in the first place.
Faced with competition from firms that reckon they can build commercial fusion reactors well before then Dr Bigot says he is energised by these rivals, but has no concern about Iter becoming an also-ran. He says Iter will be true to its retrofitted name by being the one that shows the world the path to grid-scale fusion electricity.
That, he says, is because it will work on problems that most of the private companies will not. It will, for example, develop new materials to withstand the extreme temperatures of the plasma. And it will develop and test ways to make tritium efficiently and safely on site at a power plant—for tritium, unlike deuterium, is radioactive and exists only transiently in nature., has a certain appropriateness. Iter has grand scale and grand objectives.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Neus Català, fighter against fascism in Spain and France, dies at 103A Catalonian, she was believed to have been among the last Spanish survivors of the Holocaust.
Leer más »
France to match tax cuts with spending cutsFrench President Emmanuel Macron has ordered further cuts to income tax to be ma...
Leer más »
France in a rush to train skilled workers to restore Notre-DameFrance is in a hurry to rebuild world famous Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Romain Le...
Leer más »
France, Germany to support battery cell consortium including PSA, SaftFrance and Germany have asked the European Commission to approve state subsidies...
Leer más »
France and Italy commemorate 500th anniversary of Leonardo's deathFrench President Macron and Italian counterpart Mattarella bond over Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci after months of tensions between Paris and Rome over Italy's populist government and its support for French 'yellow vest' protesters.
Leer más »
Yellow vest protesters join traditional May 1 demonstrations in FranceThe annual May Day marches were marred by clashes, as Paris police fired tear gas at protesters, who responded with projectiles.
Leer más »
Air France KLM's losses deepen, causing its shares to fallAir France-KLM blamed higher fuel costs and tough price competition as it posted...
Leer más »