ʻO ka fusion reactor he ʻōmole magnetic i loaʻa nā kaʻina hana like i ka lā. Hoʻohui ka Deuterium a me ka tritium i ka mahu o nā ion helium, neutrons a me ka wela. Ke puhi nei kēia kinoea wela, i kapa ʻia he plasma, ua hoʻololi ʻia kēlā wela i ka wai e hana i ka mahu e hoʻohuli i nā turbine e hoʻohua ai ka uila. Hoʻoweliweli ka plasma superheated i ka paia reactor a me ka divertor (kahi e hoʻoneʻe ai i ka ʻōpala mai ka reactor hana e mālama i ka plasma wela a wela).

"Ke hoʻāʻo nei mākou e hoʻoholo i ke ʻano kumu o nā mea e kū pono ana i ka plasma me ka pahuhopu o ka hoʻomaopopo ʻana i nā mīkini hoʻohaʻahaʻa i hiki iā mākou ke ʻenekinia ikaika, nā mea hou," wahi a ka mea ʻepekema waiwai ʻo Chad Parish o ka Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ʻO ia ka mea kākau kiʻekiʻe o kahi haʻawina ma ka puke paiNā Hōʻike ʻepekemai ʻimi i ka hoʻohaʻahaʻa ʻana o ka tungsten ma lalo o nā kūlana pili reactor.

No ka mea ʻo tungsten ka helu hoʻoheheʻe kiʻekiʻe loa o nā metala āpau, he moho ia no nā mea e kū pono ana i ka plasma. Ma muli o kona palupalu, akā naʻe, ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi o ka hana ʻana i kahi mea mana kalepa me ka tungsten alloy a i ʻole ka hui. Eia naʻe, ke aʻo ʻana e pili ana i ka hopena o ka pōʻino atomika ikaika i ka tungsten microscopically kōkua i nā ʻenekini e hoʻomaikaʻi i nā mea nuklea.

"Ma loko o kahi mea kanu fusion ka mea ʻenehana ʻino loa i noi ʻia e hoʻolālā i nā mea no," wahi a Parish. "Ua ʻoi aku ka ʻino ma mua o ka loko o kahi mīkini jet."

Ke aʻo nei nā mea noiʻi i ka launa pū ʻana o ka plasma a me nā ʻāpana mīkini e hana i nā mea i ʻoi aku ma mua o ka hoʻohālikelike ʻana i nā kūlana hana paʻakikī. ʻO ka hilinaʻi o nā mea waiwai kahi pilikia nui me nā ʻenehana nuklea o kēia manawa a he hopena koʻikoʻi i ke kūkulu ʻana a me nā kumukūʻai hana o nā mea kanu mana. No laila he mea koʻikoʻi ka ʻenekinia mea no ka paʻakikī i nā wā lōʻihi.

No ka noiʻi o kēia manawa, ua hoʻopiʻi nā mea noiʻi ma ke Kulanui o Kaleponi, San Diego, i ka tungsten me ka plasma helium ma ka haʻahaʻa haʻahaʻa e hoʻohālikelike ana i kahi reactor fusion ma lalo o nā kūlana maʻamau. I kēia manawa, ua hoʻohana nā mea noiʻi ma ORNL i ka Multicharged Ion Research Facility e hoʻouka i ka tungsten me nā ion helium kiʻekiʻe e hoʻohālikelike ana i nā kūlana laha, e like me ka hoʻohaunaele plasma e waiho ai i ka nui o ka ikehu.

Ke hoʻohana nei i ka microscopy electron transmission, scanning transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy a me electron nanocrystallography, ua ʻike nā ʻepekema i ka hoʻomohala ʻana o nā ʻōpū i loko o ka kristal tungsten a me ke ʻano a me ka ulu ʻana o nā hale i kapa ʻia ʻo "tendrils" ma lalo o nā kūlana haʻahaʻa a kiʻekiʻe. Ua hoʻouna lākou i nā laʻana i kahi paʻa i kapa ʻia ʻo AppFive no ka precession electron diffraction, kahi ʻenehana crystallography electron kiʻekiʻe, e ʻike i nā ʻano ulu ma lalo o nā kūlana like ʻole.

No kekahi mau makahiki, ua ʻike ka poʻe ʻepekema e pane ana ka tungsten i ka plasma ma o ka hana ʻana i nā tendrils crystalline ma ka pālākiō o ka piliona miliona o ka mika, a i ʻole nanometer—he ʻano mauʻu liʻiliʻi. Ua ʻike ʻia ka noiʻi ʻana i kēia manawa ʻoi aku ka lohi o ka ulu ʻana o nā tendrils i hana ʻia e ka hoʻokuʻu ʻana i ka ikehu haʻahaʻa, ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi a me ka maʻalahi - e hana ana i kahi ʻōpala ʻoi aku ka nui o ka fuzz-ma mua o nā mea i hana ʻia e ka hoʻouka kaua kiʻekiʻe.

I loko o nā metala, manaʻo nā ʻātoma i kahi hoʻonohonoho hoʻonohonoho ʻana me nā wahi i wehewehe ʻia ma waena o lākou. Inā hoʻoneʻe ʻia kahi ʻātoma, waiho ʻia kahi kahua hakahaka, a i ʻole "hakahaka." Inā hoʻokuʻu ʻia ka radiation, e like me ka pōlele pila, i kahi atom mai kona kahua a waiho i kahi hakahaka, pono e hele kēlā atom i kahi. Hoʻopili ʻo ia iā ia iho ma waena o nā ʻātoma ʻē aʻe i loko o ke aniani, e lilo i interstitial.

ʻO ka hana fusion-reactor maʻamau e hōʻike i ka divertor i kahi kahe kiʻekiʻe o nā mana helium haʻahaʻa haʻahaʻa. "ʻAʻole hiki ke paʻi ikaika ka ion helium e hana i ka hui ʻana o ka pōlele pila, no laila pono ia e hoʻokuʻu i loko o ka lattice e hoʻomaka ai e hana i nā ʻōpū a i ʻole nā ​​​​mea ʻino ʻē aʻe," wehewehe ʻo Parish.

Ua hoʻohālike ka poʻe manaʻo e like me Brian Wirth, kahi noho kiaʻāina o UT-ORNL i ka ʻōnaehana a manaʻoʻiʻo i ka mea i hoʻoneʻe ʻia mai ka lattice ke lilo nā ʻōhū i mau poloka kūkulu o nā tendrils. ʻO nā ʻātoma helium e hele wale a puni ka lattice, wahi a Parish. Kūleʻa lākou i nā helium ʻē aʻe a hui pū. ʻO ka hopena, ua lawa ka pūʻulu e kīkē i kahi ʻātoma tungsten mai kona kahua.

"I kēlā me kēia manawa e ulu ai ka puʻupuʻu e hoʻokuʻu aku ia i ʻelua mau atom tungsten mai kā lākou pūnaewele, a pono lākou e hele i kahi. E huki ʻia lākou i ka ʻili, "wahi a Parish. "ʻO ia, ke manaʻoʻiʻo nei mākou, ʻo ia ke ʻano hana a kēia nanofuzz."

Holo nā ʻepekema ʻepekema i nā simulation ma luna o nā supercomputers e aʻo i nā mea ma ko lākou pae atomic, a i ʻole ka nui nanometer a me nā unahi manawa nanosecond. E ʻimi ka poʻe ʻenekinia i ka hana ʻana o nā mea waiwai ma hope o ka loaʻa ʻana i ka plasma, ma ke kenimika ka lōʻihi a me ka hola manawa. "Akā, he liʻiliʻi ka ʻepekema ma waena," wahi a Parish, nona ka hoʻokolohua i hoʻopiha i kēia ʻike ʻike e aʻo i nā hōʻailona mua o ka hoʻohaʻahaʻa ʻana i nā mea a me nā pae mua o ka ulu ʻana o nanotendril.

No laila he maikaʻi a maikaʻi ʻole paha ka fuzz? "He mau waiwai ʻino a maikaʻi paha ʻo Fuzz, akā a hiki i ko mākou ʻike hou aku e pili ana i ia mea, ʻaʻole hiki iā mākou ke ʻenekinia i nā mea e hoʻāʻo ai e hoʻopau i ka mea ʻino me ka hoʻoikaika ʻana i ka maikaʻi," wahi a Parish. Ma ka ʻaoʻao ʻē aʻe, hiki i ka tungsten fuzzy ke lawe i nā haʻahaʻa wela e haki ai i ka tungsten nui, a he 10 mau manawa ka liʻiliʻi o ka haki ʻana ma mua o ka tungsten nui. Ma ka ʻaoʻao liʻiliʻi, hiki ke haʻihaʻi nā nanotendrils, e hana i kahi lepo e hiki ke hoʻomaha i ka plasma. ʻO ka pahuhopu hou a ka poʻe ʻepekema e aʻo i ka ulu ʻana o ka mea a me ka maʻalahi o ka wāwahi ʻana i nā nanotendrils mai ka ʻili.

Ua hoʻopuka nā hoa ORNL i nā hoʻokolohua microscopy electron scanning hou e hoʻomālamalama i ka ʻano tungsten. Ua hōʻike kekahi haʻawina i ka ulu ʻana o ka tendril ʻaʻole i hoʻomau i kahi ʻano makemake. Ua hōʻike ʻia kekahi noiʻi ʻana o ka pane ʻana o ka tungsten e kū ana i ka plasma i ka helium atom flux i ulu mai ka nanofuzz ​​wale nō (ma ka haʻahaʻa haʻahaʻa) i ka nanofuzz ​​me nā ʻōpū (ma ke kahe kiʻekiʻe).

ʻO ke poʻo inoa o ka pepa o kēia manawa ʻo "Morphologies of tungsten nanotendrils i ulu ma lalo o ka helium exposure."