Magnetic confinement fusion devices are technologies that can attain controlled nuclear fusion reactions, using magnetic fields to confine hot plasmas. These devices could contribute to the ongoing transition towards more sustainable energy production methods.
In a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers have documented for the first time the unique chemistry dynamics and structure of high-temperature liquid uranium trichloride (UCl3) salt, a potential nuclear fuel source for next-generation reactors.
Scraps of DNA discarded by our neurons’ power units are being absorbed into our nuclear genome far more frequently than assumed, potentially putting our brains at greater risk of developing life-threatening conditions.
An investigation by a team of researchers led by Columbia University in the US has found individuals with higher numbers of nuclear mitochondrial insertions – or NUMTs (pronounced new-mites) – in their brain cells are more likely to die earlier than those with fewer DNA transfers.
Continue reading “Mitochondria Dump DNA in The Brain, Potentially Cutting Years Off Our Lives” »
Helical Fusion, a Tokyo-based startup, is developing a groundbreaking steady-state fusion reactor that could provide limitless clean energy.
Startup Deep Fission has come up with a new way to deal with the economic and safety problems of nuclear power that is, to say the least, novel. The idea is to build a reactor that’s under 30 inches (76 cm) wide and stick it down a mile-deep (1.6-km) drill shaft.
With its promise of limitless energy by breaking down matter itself, nuclear power has long held a utopian promise for humanity. However, economic and safety considerations, along with political opposition, have hindered its development – especially in the very countries that developed the technology.
The safety and economic factors are related because the high cost of building nuclear power stations has very little to do with the nuclear technology itself. Nuclear fuel, even with all the processing costs included, only comes to about US$1,663 per kilogram (2.2 lb). Because nuclear fuel has such an incredible energy density, that’s about 0.46 ¢/kWh – and the fuel costs keep dropping as the technology becomes more efficient.
Scientists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory are pioneering the use of liquid lithium in spherical tokamaks to enhance fusion performance.
Recent computer simulations suggest the optimal placement of lithium vapor to protect the tokamak’s interior from intense plasma heat. Innovative configurations, such as the lithium “cave” and porous plasma-facing walls, aim to simplify the design and improve heat dissipation, contributing to the future of fusion energy.
Continue reading “Fusion’s New Hero: The Liquid Metal That Beats the Heat” »
For the past decade, disordered rock salt has been studied as a potential breakthrough cathode material for use in lithium-ion batteries and a key to creating low-cost, high-energy storage for everything from cell phones to electric vehicles to renewable energy storage.
A new MIT study is making sure the material fulfills that promise.
Led by Ju Li, the Tokyo Electric Power Company Professor in Nuclear Engineering and professor of materials science and engineering, a team of researchers describe a new class of partially disordered rock salt cathode, integrated with polyanions—dubbed disordered rock salt-polyanionic spinel, or DRXPS—that delivers high energy density at high voltages with significantly improved cycling stability.
Thorium may sound like something out of a Marvel comic book, but the radioactive metal could provide a very real, renewable energy source.
Chinese scientists have been working on a molten salt nuclear power plant using thorium for years. They even created a prototype reactor in 2021, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Texas is known as the dominant oil state in the US, and its grid is not the most renewable in the world. But because of its size, its traditional reliance on fossil fuels, and its rapid recent uptake of solar and batteries in the face of fierce winter storms and searing summer heat, it has been centre stage for those watching the energy transition.
It’s also interesting for Australia, because although it has about the same population, its grid demand is almost twice as great as Australia’s main grid, yet its average wind and solar penetration (31 per cent) and its peak instantaneous wind and solar penetration (71 per cent) are about the same.
While Australia is dependent still on coal, the main fossil on the Texas grid is gas, with supporting roles for nuclear and an ever decreasing amount of coal. Texas made its initial move into renewables with big wind, but is now more focused on large scale solar and battery storage.
Scientists at PPPL have developed innovative solutions to manage the intense heat generated within fusion reactors.
