i believe they are still in the testing phases... but I have heard of one that was in operation not sure I would have to do some research again?
So going on from here, Fusion reactors are still being tested small scale, and according to wikipedia, the worst source in the world. They are not expected to be used commercially untill atleast 2050.
The nuclear reactors we have now are fission reactors. This means that they obtain their energy from nuclear reactions that split large nuclei such as uranium into smaller ones such as rubidium and cesium. There is a binding energy that holds a nucleus together. If the binding energy of the original large nucleus is greater than the sum of the binding energies of the smaller pieces, you get the difference in energy as heat that can be used in a power station to generate electricity. A fusion reaction works the other way. It takes small nuclei like deuterium (heavy hydrogen) and fuses them together to make larger ones such as helium. If the binding energy of the two deuterium nuclei is greater than that of the final larger helium nucleus, it can be used to generate electricity. There are two main differences between fission and fusion. The first is that the materials required for fission are rarer and more expensive to produce than those for fusion. For example, uranium has to be mined in special areas and then purified by difficult processes. By contrast, even though deuterium makes up only 0.02 percent of naturally occurring hydrogen, we have a vast supply of hydrogen in the water making up the oceans. The second difference is that the products of fission are radioactive and so need to be treated carefully, as they are dangerous to health. The products of fusion are not radioactive (although a realistic reactor will likely have some relatively small amount of radioactive product). The problem with building fusion reactors is that a steady, controlled fusion reaction is very hard to achieve. It is still a subject of intense research. The main problem is that to achieve fusion we need to keep the nuclei we wish to fuse at extremely high temperatures and close enough for them to have a chance of fusing with one other. It is extremely difficult to find a way of holding everything together, since the nuclei naturally repel each other and the temperatures involved are high enough to melt any solid substance known. As technology improves, holding everything together will become easier, but it seems that we are a long way off from having commercial fusion reactors.
I will give you 2 answers. First and most correctly, 0%. We have not found a way to initiate and control fusion energy in a way that is economically viable. The control part is key. An example of an uncontrolled nuclear fusion reation is the Hydrogen Bomb. Second the smart ass answr, since the sun supplies most of the energy to the earth, which plants used and had become oil, most of our energy comes from nuclear fusion. The first answer is correct though. Also it may be possible that you are mistaking nuclear fusion for fission, which delivers 11% of the world's energy needs
Right now, except for the Sun, fusion is not a viable source of energy. We do not expect commercial production from fusion energy for another 50 to 100 years, if then. The technological obstacles are presently insurmountable, primarily due to problems with containment, but we are working on them.
Up to now the problem has been how to get it started at all. If and when technology has developed a way of establishing fusion as a routine operation, there would be two ways of controlling the power level of the reaction: the amount of fuel being fed in could be regulated, and the magnetic field that constrains the plasma could be adjusted. The power could be rapidly shutdown by turning off the magnetic field, so I don't think there would be any risk of the reaction getting out of control.
The two processes that produce nuclear changes are nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion involves combining two atomic nuclei to form a heavier nucleus, while nuclear fission involves splitting a heavy nucleus into smaller ones. Both processes release a large amount of energy.
yes. If they ever perfect hydrogen fusion reactors, then maybe someone will have to come up with a clearer description, but until now, they are the same.
In USA and Russia all plutonium production reactors are now shutdown.
There are AGRs at the following: Dungeness B, Hinkley B, Hunterston B, Hartlepool, Heysham 1, Heysham 2, and Torness for a total of 14 reactors. Most of the magnox reactors are now shut down. I believe Wylfa is the only one still operating. There is also a PWR operating (Sizewell B). If you want a full list of all power plants, see the link below.
In simplest terms, nuclear fission involves splitting atoms apart to make energy. Fusion involves smashing atoms together to make energy. Fusion reactors are currently entirely theoretical and do not exist. The main problem with fusion is figuring out how to get more energy out of the process than you put into making the fusion happen. Right now, the sun is the only place where fusion takes place on any meaningful scale.Another Answer:From a power production point of view, i.e. a controlledreaction, it is true that we have not been successful with fusion power. However, from a weapons point of view, i.e. an uncontrolled reaction, we have been successful. This is the basis of the hydrogen bomb. Interestingly, the hydrogen bomb requires so much energy to set it off that we use a fission bomb (the original atomic bomb) to initiate the fusion reaction.
fusion fall is now 100% free. you now have complete access
At the present time there are 104 operating reactors which provide 20 percent of total electricity. So 100 percent would require five times as many, 520 reactors. But newer ones have greater output than the average of those now operating, so it would probably be about 400 rather than over 500.
Japan's nuclear reactors, at least the number one, two and three reactors at the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant, havefailed. These reactors were operating when the earthquake hit, and, though they shut down after the quake, the tsunami that followed knocked out power and the emergency generators at the plants. The cores in these reactors continued to generate what is called decay heat, and now they have suffered a meltdown.The meltdown of the three reactors at the ÅŒkuma facility has now resulted in the distribution of highly radioactive materials across a broad area. Radiation levels are still fairly low a few tens of miles from the plant, but there is still no end in sight as regards reactivating any cooling systems. It remains to be seen if bringing electricity back to power up the site will allow for cooling systems to be activated. It may be that the blasts (probably caused by hydrogen gas) or the fires damaged the systems and they will not be able to be brought back online.
There are 104 operating nuclear reactors now in the US, producing about 19 percent of total electricity, so it's more than a few key locations. You can see a map on the NRC website www.nrc.gov
The nuclear reactors we have now are fission reactors. This means that they obtain their energy from nuclear reactions that split large nuclei such as uranium into smaller ones such as rubidium and cesium. There is a binding energy that holds a nucleus together. If the binding energy of the original large nucleus is greater than the sum of the binding energies of the smaller pieces, you get the difference in energy as heat that can be used in a power station to generate electricity. A fusion reaction works the other way. It takes small nuclei like deuterium (heavy hydrogen) and fuses them together to make larger ones such as helium. If the binding energy of the two deuterium nuclei is greater than that of the final larger helium nucleus, it can be used to generate electricity. There are two main differences between fission and fusion. The first is that the materials required for fission are rarer and more expensive to produce than those for fusion. For example, uranium has to be mined in special areas and then purified by difficult processes. By contrast, even though deuterium makes up only 0.02 percent of naturally occurring hydrogen, we have a vast supply of hydrogen in the water making up the oceans. The second difference is that the products of fission are radioactive and so need to be treated carefully, as they are dangerous to health. The products of fusion are not radioactive (although a realistic reactor will likely have some relatively small amount of radioactive product). The problem with building fusion reactors is that a steady, controlled fusion reaction is very hard to achieve. It is still a subject of intense research. The main problem is that to achieve fusion we need to keep the nuclei we wish to fuse at extremely high temperatures and close enough for them to have a chance of fusing with one other. It is extremely difficult to find a way of holding everything together, since the nuclei naturally repel each other and the temperatures involved are high enough to melt any solid substance known. As technology improves, holding everything together will become easier, but it seems that we are a long way off from having commercial fusion reactors.
No, that site with its four RBMK type reactors is shutdown. Chernobyl had the only RBMK type reactors in the country. Unit 4 was destroyed in the 1986 accident, unit 2 was shut down after a turbine hall fire in 1991, unit 1 was closed in 1997 and unit 3 closed at the end of 2000 due to international pressure. Ukraine does have operating reactors but they are all PWR type now.
Well, friend, fusion does indeed occur on Earth! It's happening right now in the core of our Sun, where hydrogen atoms are joining together to form helium, releasing a lot of energy in the process. Scientists are also working on creating controlled fusion reactions here on Earth as a potential source of clean and abundant energy for the future. It's truly a beautiful process of nature and science coming together.
Because it is a fission process, not fusion