Fusion power should replace many of our traditional sources of energy. This technology promises to generate power to meet our rapidly growing energy needs. But how close it is to a practical implementation?
Fusion power stations also require lots of energy to operate. Currently their output does not exceed the consumed energy. Certainly, this may change in a decade or two. Image credit: Pxfuel, free licence
Nuclear fusion is the same process that generates heat and light inside our Sun. Stars are natural fusion power stations: because of their huge mass, they exert strong gravitational force which gradually pulls all nuclei into each other, while also emitting energy which is generated when nuclei fuse with each other.
Here on Earth the situation is a bit different. Instead of gravity, our only way of controlling these humongous amount of power can be accomplished through the use of exceptionally strong magnetic fields. It has to be strong: otherwise, generated pure plasma of temperature of about 150 million Kelvin would melt anything in its way.
There are also some other technological obstacles that hinder development and wide adoption of nuclear fusion power. Watch more about this in the following video:
