Nuclear Revolution.

Essays | David Wu | August 14th, 2022.

In 1942, scientists at the University of Chicago held their breath as the first nuclear reactor of our species was activated. It was a small division of an atom but a large step towards answering humanity’s energy problem. 

However, nuclear technology has not seen widespread use due to the potential danger of a meltdown. The fear of radioactive contamination on occupied lands prevents investment. Coal and other unrenewable power corporations lobby the government to curtail the expansion of the nuclear miracle. It is time to wake up and recognize the true potential of nuclear technology, especially when the new efforts instituted by a UK-based fusion research lab enveloped the world’s first controlled fusion reactor in February of 2022. 

Fusion, a process by which our sun produces energy, combines the two isotopes of the most abundant element in the universe: hydrogen. Electron repulsion is too high for connectivity to occur, so the reactor must introduce energy to counter the force. Aggregating heat will allow for the strong nuclear force to exceed that of electron repulsion; tritium and deuterium— two isotopes of hydrogen— are heated. Then, the consistent pressure exerted by magnetic fields ensures the fusion reaction as the elements combine into a plasma state. The released product will have less mass than the previous two combined. However, the mass lost will become energy, as conveyed by the famous equation E=mc2.

So? Who cares? If we have already envisioned the outline for fusion, why is it important now? 

Energy is the foremost resource a nation needs. A country cannot work without its lights turned on; a nation cannot eat without its tractors running. Humanity has fought over energy and its resources for creation for the past century. A commercially viable fusion plant’s immense energy will harness a literal sun on our planet. Before a controlled fusion, the process is usually replicated in an uncontrolled environment where the energy releases into an explosive state: hydrogen nuclear bombs. Controlled fusion’s massive energy output may not be the golden bullet that eliminates the infinite demand for energy; however, it is the closest development we have ever seen.

Naysayers claim that nuclear energy instigates ecological disasters that add fuel to the fire in adverse climate change, but we must recognize that those abominated claims are asserted without any implications of science. Nuclear energy is carbon-free and therefore does not contribute to global warming; it is green and robust. We have gradually learned more about the safety protocols and contingencies for any circumstances despite previous containment breaches. A fusion reactor will never melt down because excess light energy could not cause catastrophic chain reactions.

It is, therefore, paramount that we keep an open mind toward progress and technologies that benefit us. The European Union’s bombastic declaration for extremely anti-nuclear energy legislation chases idealism without considering real utility and availability. Europeans could suffer through the winter without the Russians’ natural gas, or they could arrive in conscience and invest in the clear solution: nuclear energy. It is time to value science and efficiency above conspiracy.