Jet, lter and beyond

摘要

Fusion powers the sun and stars, and is potentially an environmentally responsible and intrinsically safe source of essentially limitless energy. Experiments at the Joint European Torus (Jet) at Culham in the UK (pictured above), which has produced 16 MW of fusion power, and at other facilities, have shown that fusion can be mastered on Earth. However, controlled fusion power will not be available as soon as we would like. Current projections show that building a fusion power station is entirely feasible, and it looks as if the cost of fusion power will be reasonable. But time is needed to further develop the technology in order to ensure that it would be reliable and economic, and to test in power station conditions the materials that would be used in its construction.