For decades, the quest for generating electricity by a fusion reactor, called a tokamak, has been a search in futility. While it has been possible to generate electricity through the fusion process, the cost of generating fusion has, until recently, always been greater than the amount of energy gained. In simpler terms, the input of energy expended in creating the fusion process is more than the output obtained. A standing joke among physicists has always been that fusion is only 30 years away. No more. And with the coming age of fusion, helium-3 will soon become a serious national security issue for the United States.
Fusion is the source of the Sun’s energy. In contrast to the fission reactor, which splits atoms, a tokamak fuses atoms to release energy. Unlike the fission reactor, a fusion tokamak does not emit dangerous radioactive waste. If there is a malfunction in a tokamak, the energy being created called plasma, short circuits, and becomes water. In contrast, a malfunction in a fission reactor generates radioactive waste and pollution. The Chernobyl accident in April of 1986 is a good example of the radioactive fallout from a malfunctioning fission reactor.
With the recent breakthrough by Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) on September 5, making fusion power available in the early 2030s will soon make the demand for helium-3 inelastic.
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