Humanity Begins to Harness the Power of the Sun
As we use the world’s finite resources, scientists search for new forms of powering our industrial lives. Founded in 1976, the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, or PSFC, has been working towards generating energy via nuclear fusion. This center receives forty-five million dollars in research budget annually and possesses 150 thousand square feet of space on the MIT campus. The MIT community is included in this center, employing 90 PhD students and spanning across 7 departments (1). Generally, the center’s goal is to educate students in the “fourth state of matter, ” plasmas (2). The center offers courses in “basic physics of plasmas, fusion technology and engineering, physics of beams and the generation of coherent electromagnetic radiation, and environmental monitoring and waste treatment using plasmas” (2). While the center is multifaceted, its most funded and important research is on nuclear fusion technologies.
From afar, nuclear fusion is the process where two light nuclei combine to become a single, heavier nucleus. In this process, the combined mass of the two initial nuclei is greater than that of the resulting nucleus. The leftover mass is converted into energy as described by Albert Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc2, where “E” is energy, “m” is mass, and “c” is the constant for the speed of light. (3) Inducing nuclear fusion would allow us to generate energy. An excellent example of this process is our Sun, which fuses hydrogen atoms into helium atoms to produce energy.
The PSFC specifically uses magnetically confined nuclear fusion. The center heats the substances of tritium and deuterium, isotopes of hydrogen, to temperatures hotter than the sun’s core. Under these conditions, the fuel breaks down into nuclei and electrons, forming plasma. Next, the new plasma is confined in a Tokamak, a donut-shaped chamber, where the nuclei are smashed together, releasing energy and helium. The energy produced heats water to make steam that drives turbines to generate electricity. (3)
An image of the donut-shaped Tokamak where nuclear fusion takes place https://scitechdaily.com/keeping-an-eye-on-the-fusion-magnet-technology-of-the-future
A real-world example of this process researched at the PSFC can be observed in the efforts of the company Commonwealth Fusion Systems. The company intends to make a fusion plant named ARC in the 2030s. This plant will generate 400 megawatts of energy, enough to power 150,000 homes and large industrial sites. The plant will be constructed in James River Industrial Park, Virginia. The company has worked with the PSFC since 2017, and their partnership is bringing the technology into reality as they bridge academia with the private sector and have garnered two billion dollars in funding to create ARC. (4)
Coal, fossil fuels, and natural gasses may no longer be necessary once this revolutionary nuclear fusion technology is fully utilized. Waste-free nuclear energy is right around the corner, and giants in science like MIT and other companies are working to make it a reality.
Bibliography:
- About MIT PSFC – PSFC. (2025). Retrieved January 21, 2025, from Mit.edu website: https://www.psfc.mit.edu/about/#:~:text=Officially%20founded%20in%201976%2C%20the,science%2C%20collaborate%2C%20and%20study.
- MIT Plasma Science & Fusion Center: about. (2025). Retrieved January 21, 2025, from Mit.edu website: https://www1.psfc.mit.edu/about/index.html#:~:text=The%20Plasma%20Science%20and%20Fusion%20Center%20is%20recognized%20as%20the,related%20plasma%20science%20and%20technology.
- DOE Explains…Fusion Reactions. (2022). Retrieved January 21, 2025, from Energy.gov website: https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsfusion-reactions#:~:text=Fusion%20reactions%20power%20the%20Sun,The%20leftover%20mass%20becomes%20energy.
- Zach. (2024, December). MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems unveils plans for the world’s first fusion power plant. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology website: https://news.mit.edu/2024/commonwealth-fusion-systems-unveils-worlds-first-fusion-power-plant-1217