God and Nature Spring 2021
Controlled Fusion and God’s Promises
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By Kenell Touryan
In Genesis 1, we read that on the "fourth day... God made two great lights...the greater light to govern the day...." Can we re-create the power source that energizes the sun in a man-made laboratory? And should we?
Our sun provides most of the energy and light that supports life on planet earth. We know that its source of energy is fusion power, generated when hydrogen ions and other low atomic weight elements fuse together under immense pressures and multi-million degree temperatures, converting mass into energy according to Einstein's simple equation E = mc^2 (where m is the mass and c is the speed of light). The same fusion energy powers the myriad (10^31) stars that make up the 10^12 galaxies in our universe.
The hope of clean and renewable energy with a near boundless fuel source has been a huge incentive to attempt the Herculean task of generating power through fusion. In 1951, Lyman Spitzer of Princeton proposed that a magnetically confined high-temperature plasma in a device called the Stellarator (1) might be able to generate this boundless energy. The same year, Andrei Sakharov and Igor Tamm of the Soviet Union proposed a similar magnetically confined fusion device called a Tokamak (2). The fuel used in these devices is heavy hydrogen, called deuterium, which is abundant in seawater.
In Genesis 1, we read that on the "fourth day... God made two great lights...the greater light to govern the day...." Can we re-create the power source that energizes the sun in a man-made laboratory? And should we?
Our sun provides most of the energy and light that supports life on planet earth. We know that its source of energy is fusion power, generated when hydrogen ions and other low atomic weight elements fuse together under immense pressures and multi-million degree temperatures, converting mass into energy according to Einstein's simple equation E = mc^2 (where m is the mass and c is the speed of light). The same fusion energy powers the myriad (10^31) stars that make up the 10^12 galaxies in our universe.
The hope of clean and renewable energy with a near boundless fuel source has been a huge incentive to attempt the Herculean task of generating power through fusion. In 1951, Lyman Spitzer of Princeton proposed that a magnetically confined high-temperature plasma in a device called the Stellarator (1) might be able to generate this boundless energy. The same year, Andrei Sakharov and Igor Tamm of the Soviet Union proposed a similar magnetically confined fusion device called a Tokamak (2). The fuel used in these devices is heavy hydrogen, called deuterium, which is abundant in seawater.
"It would be wise to continue research on developing fusion power, but..." |
There are two fundamental approaches to controlled fusion (3): magnetically confined low-pressure systems; and inertial confinement systems, where lasers and other techniques are used to achieve high pressures. The term controlled is meant to distinguish these from the fusion technology used explosively in thermonuclear weapons.
Unlike traditional fossil fuel sources and other clean-energy systems like solar cells, wind, biomass energy sources, and even nuclear power, fusion power in the laboratory has frustrated scientists and engineers at every turn in its development, raising unforeseen technical difficulties. These difficulties occur when confining and heating the fuel at very high temperatures, creating an ionized gas called plasma, for durations long enough to generate steady power, which is on the order of 400 to 600 seconds for magnetically confined systems. Containing the plasma and preventing instabilities have turned out to be more difficult problems than anyone had anticipated.
When I graduated from Princeton in 1962, I was invited to join the Stellarator team with the vision of having a prototype device ready for commercialization in the 1980 timeframe! Sad to say, the multiple research fusion experiments worldwide have not yet achieved the goal of designing and building working prototypes, let alone a commercial power plant. This frustration has been the experience for all the major players: the European Union, Russia, the US, Japan, and more recently, China, South Korea, and India.
In 1978, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had just started their proof-of-concept tests with a 10-beam laser. After one of my visits, I stepped out of the gigantic, multibillion-dollar facility, with all its complex man-made paraphernalia serving our attempt to create fusion in a millimeter-sized capsule, and my eyes caught our setting sun, the giant fusion machine set in place by the Creator (Genesis 1:14). It has existed for many millions of years and has enough fuel for many millions more, providing uninterrupted energy to our planet. I suddenly realized that it is far more practical and economical to capture that energy in solar cells instead. At that instant, I had an aha moment that led me to devote the rest of my life to developing renewable energy technologies.
Since then, some progress has been made on magnetic fusion. ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, also Latin for “the way,” ) in Provence, France, is a collaboration by 35 nations that will have ten times the plasma size of the largest operating fusion device today and will provide the opportunity to study plasmas under conditions similar to those expected in a future power plant (4). It was approved in 2005 for an estimated construction of €5 billion, and Deuterium-Tritium (full) operation was expected to start in 2027. The cost estimate has significantly increased since then, and D-T operation is currently expected by 2035 (with First Plasma in 2025).
There is no question that fusion as a clean source of energy, with abundant supply of fuel like deuterium, is an essential component of providing for the increasing energy needs of the world. Even with the large-scale introduction of solar and wind technologies, it will still be important to have base power plants run on clean energy, such as fusion power, to smooth over the intermittency issues of solar and wind energy sources.
For Christians, the question today is one of cost effectiveness. Spending huge sums of money on fusion at this stage of development may not be an immediate priority, given the many other pressing human needs we have to meet. It would be wise to continue research on developing fusion power, but—cognizant of our call to good stewardship—at a pace that also recognizes the need to address humanity's near-term concerns.
It is worthwhile to recall the statement God made regarding the Tower of Babel: "...nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them" (Genesis 11:6). Fusion, often considered impossible, is a challenge before us and, if solved and used for peaceful purposes, could be a great contribution toward a clean-energy planet. However, those who planned to build the Tower of Babel had more than technology in mind. They said, “We will make a name for ourselves,” expressing confidence in their ability to have total control over their destinies. In their pride, they failed to realize that their ultimate challenge was not technological but spiritual—they failed to acknowledge God. Only by seeking God can we truly be responsible stewards of His creation.
References
1. L. Spitzer Jr, The Stellerator Concept. Physics of Fluids 1, 253 (1958)
2. J. Wesson, Tokamaks, 2011 (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
3. Francis F. Chen, Introduction to Plasma Physics, Third Edition, 2016 (Berlin: Springer) Chapter 10
4. iter.org – About -What is ITER? https://www.iter.org/proj/inafewlines#2
Kenell (Ken) Touryan retired from the National Renewable Energy laboratory in 2007 as chief technology analyst. He spent the next eight years as visiting professor at the American University of Armenia (an affiliate of UC Berkeley). He received his PhD in Mechanical and Aeronautical Sciences from Princeton University with a minor in Physics. His first 16 years were spent at Sandia National Laboratories as Manager of R&D projects in various defense and advanced energy systems. He has published some 95 papers in refereed journals, authored three books, and co-owns several patents. A detailed discussion of this topic may be found in Touryan, KJ. "Controlled Fusion: Magnetic and Inertial, Promises and Pitfalls." American Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems 2020; 9(6): 104-108.
Unlike traditional fossil fuel sources and other clean-energy systems like solar cells, wind, biomass energy sources, and even nuclear power, fusion power in the laboratory has frustrated scientists and engineers at every turn in its development, raising unforeseen technical difficulties. These difficulties occur when confining and heating the fuel at very high temperatures, creating an ionized gas called plasma, for durations long enough to generate steady power, which is on the order of 400 to 600 seconds for magnetically confined systems. Containing the plasma and preventing instabilities have turned out to be more difficult problems than anyone had anticipated.
When I graduated from Princeton in 1962, I was invited to join the Stellarator team with the vision of having a prototype device ready for commercialization in the 1980 timeframe! Sad to say, the multiple research fusion experiments worldwide have not yet achieved the goal of designing and building working prototypes, let alone a commercial power plant. This frustration has been the experience for all the major players: the European Union, Russia, the US, Japan, and more recently, China, South Korea, and India.
In 1978, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had just started their proof-of-concept tests with a 10-beam laser. After one of my visits, I stepped out of the gigantic, multibillion-dollar facility, with all its complex man-made paraphernalia serving our attempt to create fusion in a millimeter-sized capsule, and my eyes caught our setting sun, the giant fusion machine set in place by the Creator (Genesis 1:14). It has existed for many millions of years and has enough fuel for many millions more, providing uninterrupted energy to our planet. I suddenly realized that it is far more practical and economical to capture that energy in solar cells instead. At that instant, I had an aha moment that led me to devote the rest of my life to developing renewable energy technologies.
Since then, some progress has been made on magnetic fusion. ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, also Latin for “the way,” ) in Provence, France, is a collaboration by 35 nations that will have ten times the plasma size of the largest operating fusion device today and will provide the opportunity to study plasmas under conditions similar to those expected in a future power plant (4). It was approved in 2005 for an estimated construction of €5 billion, and Deuterium-Tritium (full) operation was expected to start in 2027. The cost estimate has significantly increased since then, and D-T operation is currently expected by 2035 (with First Plasma in 2025).
There is no question that fusion as a clean source of energy, with abundant supply of fuel like deuterium, is an essential component of providing for the increasing energy needs of the world. Even with the large-scale introduction of solar and wind technologies, it will still be important to have base power plants run on clean energy, such as fusion power, to smooth over the intermittency issues of solar and wind energy sources.
For Christians, the question today is one of cost effectiveness. Spending huge sums of money on fusion at this stage of development may not be an immediate priority, given the many other pressing human needs we have to meet. It would be wise to continue research on developing fusion power, but—cognizant of our call to good stewardship—at a pace that also recognizes the need to address humanity's near-term concerns.
It is worthwhile to recall the statement God made regarding the Tower of Babel: "...nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them" (Genesis 11:6). Fusion, often considered impossible, is a challenge before us and, if solved and used for peaceful purposes, could be a great contribution toward a clean-energy planet. However, those who planned to build the Tower of Babel had more than technology in mind. They said, “We will make a name for ourselves,” expressing confidence in their ability to have total control over their destinies. In their pride, they failed to realize that their ultimate challenge was not technological but spiritual—they failed to acknowledge God. Only by seeking God can we truly be responsible stewards of His creation.
References
1. L. Spitzer Jr, The Stellerator Concept. Physics of Fluids 1, 253 (1958)
2. J. Wesson, Tokamaks, 2011 (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
3. Francis F. Chen, Introduction to Plasma Physics, Third Edition, 2016 (Berlin: Springer) Chapter 10
4. iter.org – About -What is ITER? https://www.iter.org/proj/inafewlines#2
Kenell (Ken) Touryan retired from the National Renewable Energy laboratory in 2007 as chief technology analyst. He spent the next eight years as visiting professor at the American University of Armenia (an affiliate of UC Berkeley). He received his PhD in Mechanical and Aeronautical Sciences from Princeton University with a minor in Physics. His first 16 years were spent at Sandia National Laboratories as Manager of R&D projects in various defense and advanced energy systems. He has published some 95 papers in refereed journals, authored three books, and co-owns several patents. A detailed discussion of this topic may be found in Touryan, KJ. "Controlled Fusion: Magnetic and Inertial, Promises and Pitfalls." American Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems 2020; 9(6): 104-108.