The world's biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor in operation was inaugurated in Japan on Friday, a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity's future energy needs.
  • superminerJG@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    11 months ago

    The reaction used in fusion generators is:

    [2]H + [3]H -> [4]He + n

    Since tritium is usually produced from lithium in situ, you add:

    [6]Li + n -> [3]H + [4]He.

    The only radioactive thing here is tritium, and it’s mostly confined to the reactor. Also, tritium isn’t nearly as bad as fission waste.

      • superminerJG@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        11 months ago

        I mean, if you could extract any tritium from the reactor cavity, but it’s probably going to get burned up instantly.

        The reactions I showed add up to this overall reaction. Neutrons simply serve as a catalyst.

        [2]H + [6]Li -> 2 [4]He

        On the bright side, fusion reactors produce helium as a byproduct, which might make party balloons cheaper.