Great advice maybe that's what I should have done -subscribed to a professional site at one stage, which showed the progress of building the various parts of the collider - don't know if it is finished just yet - want to go and visit if I ever get myself over there.
It is supposed to be ready in 2020 and the proper name is "International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor" (also in Russian called TOKAMAK = TOroidal'nya KAmera's AKsialnym magnitnym polem*)- the purpose of the reactor is to create atomic fusion - which is the shangri-la of atomic power - fusion power will operate soundlessly and without the nasties of left-over radiation.
It's a collaborative effort by primarily the European Space Agency (45% participation) and China (9%), South Korea (9%), Russia (9%), India (9%), Japan (9%) and the U.S. (9%) - don't know if Trump has pulled out of that one, too.
Raw material needed is Lithium (Deuterium Tritium) and Uranium.
I think Australia is missing a great opportunity, but we are a very domestically inclined people - 'Days of our Lives' 'Neighbours' describes us very well.
Here is a big more from my notes when I subscribed to that magazine:
Fusion: - placing hydrogen atoms under high heat and pressure until they fuse into helium atoms (which is what the Hadron Collider is testing)
next step: nside hydrogen are Deuterium and Tritium Nuclei which form
- helium nucleus
- a neutro and
- a lot - a real lot of heat
the fuel needed for this process needs to be heated in excess of 150 million degree Celsius and then it forms hot plasma.
to keep the plasma away from the walls strong magnetic fields are used by super-conductive coils and electric currents are driven through the plasma.
For energy production the plasma has to be confined for suffiently long periods.
*TOKAMAK was conceived by Russian (Soviet) physicists in 1950s - never completed.
another 'fun' fact: the 18 magnets needed to keep the plasma suspended, flowing and away from the walls each weigh as much as BOEING 747 - at the time when I stopped subscribing to the magazine they were being produced in Japan - from memory and some in the U.S. Can anyone update this, please?
Taurisk
