Fusion reactor da gaske kwalban maganadisu ce mai ɗauke da irin tsarin da ke faruwa a rana. Deuterium da tritium suna haɗuwa don samar da tururi na helium ions, neutrons da zafi. Yayin da wannan zafi mai zafi, ionized gas—wanda ake kira plasma—yana ƙonewa, ana canja wurin zafin zuwa ruwa don yin tururi don kunna injin turbin da ke samar da wutar lantarki. Plasma mai zafi yana haifar da barazana akai-akai ga bangon reactor da mai karkatarwa (wanda ke cire sharar da ke cikin injin aiki don kiyaye plasma ya yi zafi sosai don ƙonewa).

"Muna ƙoƙarin tantance ainihin halayen kayan da ke fuskantar plasma tare da manufar fahimtar hanyoyin lalata don haka za mu iya yin injiniyoyi masu ƙarfi, sabbin kayayyaki," in ji masanin kimiyar Chad Parish na Ma'aikatar Makamashi ta Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Shi ne babban marubucin wani bincike a cikin mujallarRahoton Kimiyyawanda ya bincika lalata tungsten a ƙarƙashin yanayin da ya dace da reactor.

Domin tungsten yana da mafi girman wurin narkewa na duk karafa, ɗan takara ne don kayan da ke fuskantar plasma. Saboda karyewarta, duk da haka, ana iya yin masana'antar wutar lantarki ta kasuwanci da gariyar tungsten ko hadaddiyar giyar. Ko da kuwa, koyo game da yadda bama-bamai mai kuzari ke shafar tungsten a gurguzu yana taimaka wa injiniyoyi inganta kayan nukiliya.

"A cikin tashar samar da wutar lantarki shine mafi munin yanayi injiniyoyi da aka taba tambayar su tsara kayan," in ji Parish. "Yana da muni fiye da na cikin injin jet."

Masu bincike suna nazarin hulɗar plasma da na'ura don yin kayan da suka fi dacewa da irin wannan yanayin aiki mai tsanani. Amincewar kayan aiki shine babban batu tare da na yanzu da sabbin fasahohin nukiliya waɗanda ke da tasiri mai mahimmanci akan gini da farashin aiki na tashoshin wutar lantarki. Don haka yana da mahimmanci ga injiniyoyin kayan aikin don jurewa tsawon rayuwa.

Don binciken na yanzu, masu bincike a Jami'ar California, San Diego, sun harba tungsten tare da plasma na helium a ƙarancin makamashi suna kwaikwayon wani nau'in fusion a ƙarƙashin yanayin al'ada. A halin yanzu, masu bincike a ORNL sun yi amfani da Multicharged Ion Research Facility don kai hari tungsten tare da manyan ions helium masu ƙarfi suna kwaikwayon yanayin da ba kasafai ba, kamar rushewar plasma wanda zai iya sanya adadin kuzari mai yawa.

Yin amfani da microscopy na lantarki na watsawa, nazarin watsawa na lantarki, duban microscopy na lantarki da kuma nanocrystallography na lantarki, masana kimiyya sun kwatanta juyin halitta na kumfa a cikin lu'u-lu'u na tungsten da siffar da kuma girma na tsarin da ake kira "tendrils" a ƙarƙashin ƙananan yanayi da makamashi. Sun aika da samfuran zuwa wani kamfani mai suna AppFive don precession electron diffraction, wani ci-gaba na fasahar crystallography na lantarki, don samar da hanyoyin girma a ƙarƙashin yanayi daban-daban.

A cikin ƴan shekaru masana kimiyya sun san cewa tungsten yana amsawa ga plasma ta hanyar samar da ginshiƙan crystalline akan sikelin biliyoyin na mita, ko nanometers—ƙananan lawn iri. Binciken na yanzu ya gano cewa jijiyoyi da aka samar ta hanyar bama-bamai masu karamin karfi sun kasance masu saurin girma, mafi kyau kuma sun fi santsi- suna samar da kafet na fuzz - fiye da waɗanda aka ƙirƙira ta hanyar hari mai ƙarfi.

A cikin karafa, atom ɗin suna ɗaukar tsari mai tsari tare da fayyace wurare a tsakanin su. Idan an raba zarra, wurin da babu kowa a ciki, ko “guraben aiki,” ya rage. Idan radiation, kamar ƙwallon biliard, ya buga zarra daga rukunin yanar gizonsa kuma ya bar wurin zama, wannan zarra dole ne ya tafi wani wuri. Yana murƙushe kanta tsakanin sauran ƙwayoyin halitta a cikin crystal, ya zama tsaka-tsaki.

Ayyukan fusion-reactor na yau da kullun yana fallasa mai karkatar zuwa ga babban juzu'i na atom ɗin helium masu ƙarancin kuzari. "A helium ion ba ya buga sosai don yin karo na ball ball, don haka dole ne ya latsa cikin lettice don fara samar da kumfa ko wasu lahani," Parish ya bayyana.

Masu ra'ayi irin su Brian Wirth, Shugaban Kujerar Gwamna na UT-ORNL, sun tsara tsarin kuma sun yi imani da kayan da ke ƙaura daga lattice lokacin da kumfa ya zama tubalan ginin tendrils. Atom na helium suna yawo a cikin ledo ba da gangan ba, in ji Parish. Suna shiga cikin wasu jirage masu saukar ungulu tare da hada karfi da karfe. A ƙarshe gungu ya isa ya kaɗa zarra na tungsten daga rukunin yanar gizonsa.

"Duk lokacin da kumfa ya girma yakan tura wasu karin atom tungsten daga rukunin yanar gizon su, kuma dole ne su je wani wuri. Za a jawo hankalinsu zuwa saman,” in ji Parish. "Wannan, mun yi imani, shine tsarin da wannan nanofuzz ​​ke samuwa."

Masana kimiyyar lissafi suna gudanar da simulations akan manyan kwamfutoci don nazarin kayan a matakin atom ɗin su, ko girman nanometer da ma'aunin lokaci na nanosecond. Injiniyoyin suna bincika yadda kayan ke wargajewa, fashe, da kuma in ba haka ba suke yi bayan dogon fallasa zuwa plasma, akan tsawon santimita da ma'aunin lokacin sa'a. "Amma akwai ƙananan kimiyya a tsakanin," in ji Parish, wanda gwajinsa ya cika wannan gibin ilimi don nazarin alamun farko na lalata kayan abu da farkon matakan girma na nanotendril.

Don haka fuzz yana da kyau ko mara kyau? "Fuzz mai yiwuwa yana da abubuwa masu lahani da fa'ida, amma har sai mun sami ƙarin sani game da shi, ba za mu iya yin injiniyoyin kayan aikin don ƙoƙarin kawar da mummuna yayin da ke ƙarfafa kyawawan abubuwa ba," in ji Parish. A gefe mai kyau, tungsten mai banƙyama na iya ɗaukar nauyin zafi wanda zai fashe babban tungsten, kuma yashwa ya ragu sau 10 a cikin duhu fiye da tungsten mai girma. A gefen ragi, nanotendrils na iya karyawa, suna yin ƙura wanda zai iya kwantar da plasma. Burin masana kimiyya na gaba shine su koyi yadda abubuwan ke faruwa da kuma yadda yake da sauƙin karya nanotendrils daga saman.

Abokan hulɗa na ORNL sun buga gwaje-gwajen microscope na lantarki na kwanan nan wanda ke haskaka halayyar tungsten. Ɗaya daga cikin binciken ya nuna ci gaban tendril bai ci gaba ba a cikin kowane yanayin da aka fi so. Wani bincike ya nuna cewa martanin tungsten da ke fuskantar plasma zuwa helium atom flux ya samo asali ne daga nanofuzz ​​kawai (a ƙananan motsi) zuwa nanofuzz ​​da kumfa (a babban juzu'i).

Taken takarda na yanzu shine "Hanyoyin halittar tungsten nanotendrils da aka girma a ƙarƙashin bayyanar helium."