The world's largest operational experimental nuclear fusion reactor opened in Japan last Friday, an achievement that is still in its infancy, but described as the solution to humanity's future energy needs.
Fusion differs from fission, the technique currently used in nuclear power plants, by merging two atomic nuclei rather than splitting one.
The goal of the JT-60SA reactor is to study the feasibility of fusion as a safe, large-scale, carbon-free source, while generating more energy than that used in its production.
The six-storey machine, housed in an aircraft hangar in Naka, north of Tokyo, consists of a tokamak vessel (a type of magnetic confinement nuclear fusion device developed to produce controlled thermonuclear fusion energy) designed to contain swirling plasma heated to 200 million Celsius.
The reactor comes as a joint project between the European Union and Japan, which serves as a pilot project for a larger project in France, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction.
The ultimate goal of both projects is to fuse the hydrogen nuclei inside to form a heavier element, helium, and release the energy in the form of light and heat, mimicking the process that occurs inside the sun.
Researchers at ITER, which is over budget, behind schedule and facing major technical problems, hope to achieve a miracle in nuclear fusion technology: pure energy.
Sam Davis, deputy head of the JT-60SA project, said the device "will bring us closer to fusion energy."
“It is the result of collaboration between more than 500 scientists and engineers and more than 70 companies across Europe and Japan,” Davis explained at the opening ceremony on Friday.
Unlike nuclear fission, nuclear fusion carries no risk of catastrophic nuclear accidents, such as the one at Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, and produces far less radioactive waste than current power plants, its proponents say.
"Unusual" ancient tombs found near the North Pole!
Just south of the Arctic Circle, within the vast forests of northern Finland, lies a sand field dotted with dozens of “unusual” craters.
The site, known as Tainiaro, was found by workers six decades ago and since then, its origins have remained elusive.
But now, after conducting a comprehensive analysis of the site, scientists suggest it is likely a sprawling cemetery for hunter-gatherers dating back about 6,500 years, according to a study published Dec. 1 in the journal Antiquity.
Scientists from the University of Oulu in Finland said: “Such a large cemetery located at high northern latitude does not necessarily fit preconceived notions about prehistoric foragers in this region,” adding that it may be time to “recalibrate our expectations.” .
During excavations conducted in 2018 and analysis of archival fieldwork, scientists identified an estimated 115 to 200 pits. Most of them were rectangular in shape, about 7 feet long and 2.5 feet deep.
No human remains were found inside, but thousands of artifacts were found, including pottery and burned animal bones.
By comparing these pits with other Stone Age archaeological finds, scientists concluded that they were most likely burial sites used by wandering peoples who were foraging and fishing in the area.
They added: “In our opinion, Tainyaru should be considered a cemetery site, even though there are no structural materials at Tainyaru.”
But what further complicated their conclusion was the finding of burnt materials inside some of the pits, indicating that they may have been stoves. However, traces of charred materials were not sufficient to prove the use of igneous sources.
This finding indicates the possibility that the site was not only used to bury the dead. The team explains: "In fact, it has recently been suggested that the places of the Mesolithic dead were also the places of the living, and some sites previously interpreted as cemeteries were on residential sites with tombs excavated beneath dwellings."
With this possibility in mind, scientists say Tainyaru should not be considered a single-purpose site, but rather may have served multiple purposes.
If it was used, at least in part, as a cemetery, it would rank among the largest Stone Age cemeteries in northern Europe.
Aki Hakkonen, one of the study's authors, noted that Finland alone has more than 200 Stone Age burial sites, most of which are very small.
He continued: “There are a few sites that contain about 20 burials, but even these sites are considered anomalies. But more than 100 graves is puzzling, and more than 200 is astonishing.”
The Tainyaru site is particularly stunning because it is located in a restricted subarctic zone with heavy winter snowfall and temperatures dropping to minus 6 degrees Celsius (minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit).
Nice!
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