They Had Been to the Moon, Now They Are On the Path from Fission to Fusion, We Are On Foot Again

In a letter written by the valuable scientist Prof. Dr. Celal Şengör for journalist and program producer Fatih Altaylı, he gives a brief summary of the current situation of our country while talking about what will happen in technology in 2026. In this era of reason and science, he lists one by one the realities that he foresees that our world and our country will face in the near future. I would also like to point out that I am not in a position to discuss his views or comment on what he said.

The main subject of his article; energy systems of the future and billions of dollars spent on these issues and infrastructures. Today, electric car technologies are just one of the starting points of these energy policies. It was estimated that the number of electric vehicles in our country, which was currently 2.5% in 2022, would increase to approximately 7% in 2023, but we have not reached this point yet. In addition, the infrastructure for the transition from fission to fusion is being prepared in our country, as in the rest of the world.

What is fission? Fission, as you know, means controlling and using nuclear energy. Fusion, on the other hand, is achieved entirely with green energy and its costs are very low. Experts say that fusion energy will enable the production of energy equivalent to the energy produced using today's 300 gallons of oil, using one gallon of seawater.

This scientific fact has passed the 'possible?' point. It's already happening. Don't worry, it doesn't happen in our country. We cannot even find the opportunity to discuss what is happening in the world and discuss it in the ugly lanes of politics and football. For some reason, these do not attract our attention... Yes, 1 gallon of sea water is equivalent to 300 gallons of oil. What is more abundant than sea water? It seems that fusion energy will definitely enter our lives. Just when? The question is on the agenda.

Meanwhile, electric cars have already begun to outperform the world's best-quality petrol cars. Electric ships and planes are also on the way. Since fusion will provide almost free electricity, countries with such technologies will literally start living for free. Transportation and communication will be managed entirely by electricity. May Jules Verne rest in peace; He saw these 150 years ago. I guess that's what you call dreams come true. If our center of understanding, which excludes science, cannot keep up with this development, it will fall far behind in the race to benefit from this technology. In our society, this understanding was only able to bring the printing press to the country after 300 years. While non-Muslims were reading books printed in the printing house right next to us for decades, the Muslim community supposedly did not allow the printing press into the country.

In fact, my research on this issue is only to inform you and to reveal once again how useless the people of my country are. This is because the slap that a football player gives or does not slap to another in a sports match is much more important than being talked about for days. Countries have already prepared the infrastructure for the transition from Fission to Fusion, and humanity will say hello to this technology in the very near future! The dream of achieving endless and clean energy through nuclear fusion has been going on for decades. There are large-scale studies in many countries. Nuclear fusion is different from the fission technology used in current power plants. Humanity can reach infinite energy through nuclear fusion. The Sun and other stars get their energy from fusion reactions! Scientists want to create this reaction that occurs in stars under earth conditions.

Every study carried out brings humanity closer to the dream of producing endless and clean energy from nuclear fusion. Breaking new ground in this technology is critical for all actors, and competition is therefore quite high. Now let's look at the point the countries have reached regarding this study. It is on the agenda that China aims to produce energy with nuclear fusion by 2028. Then, England announced the location where it will build the prototype fusion power plant, which it plans to build by 2040. Recently, US Secretary of Energy Granholm announced that scientists working at the National Ignition Facility have achieved fusion ignition. This statement was greeted with great excitement. Nuclear Fusion energy occurs when two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. As a result of this reaction, a huge amount of energy is released. Of course, it is quite difficult to achieve this. It is necessary to reach very high temperature and pressure values to initiate the reaction. Academician working in the field of nuclear physics, Prof. Dr. Niyazi Meriç said, “The sun is always in front of our eyes and provides us with this energy. People started to think, 'Can we achieve this environment in the world?' If it can be obtained, all our energy needs will be met.

Underlining that these studies are quite costly, Meriç mentions that 3.5 billion dollars were spent for the study in the USA. England, Russia, China, America and other countries are working hard to realize fusion energy. 

orlar.

The USA recently announced a major scientific breakthrough in fusion energy. Various systems such as "tokamak and stellarator" are used in fusion research. In the study conducted in the USA, a system based on lasers was used. At the heart of nuclear fusion research is efficiency, that is, getting more energy from the given energy. The experiment in question is a first in the world in this respect. For the first time, more energy was produced in a nuclear fusion than was given to start the reaction. While the USA announced that they had achieved Fusion ignition, Granholm stated that scientific success strengthens national security. Fusion goes out immediately in the reactor if there is an accident. It has no explosive power on its own, but we are talking about fusion bombs, for example. The fusion bomb is much more powerful than the fission bomb, what we know as the atomic bomb. They place the fusion bomb in front of the atomic bomb. When an atomic bomb is dropped, it reaches a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. As soon as it reaches, the fusion bomb in front of it appears, meaning it takes action and you can detonate the bomb much more powerfully. It causes more damage to that area. So there you provide this energy from an atomic bomb.

Nuclear fusion and fission are different technologies. Current nuclear power plants use fission technology, in which heavy atoms are split apart. At the end of the process, the resulting radioactive waste must be stored safely for a very long time. In fusion, the situation is different. There is no waste in fusion. The nucleus merges and helium is formed. Helium is also a stable nucleus, meaning it is not radioactive. There is no nuclear waste. That's why green energy somewhere. It doesn't cause much harm to humanity. The reason why all people oppose nuclear fission is the ash it leaves behind. What will we do with this ash? they say. You can't throw it to any side. There's not much to say about fusion. Because there is no ash. There is nothing to throw away. You get the energy, and when it doesn't work for you, you turn it off, that's all. Currently, projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), Artificial Sun, and Compact Fusion Reactor are ongoing. But it is also a fact that these projects have come a long way, and in this respect, they have come to an end! It may enter our lives three years later, or it may enter our lives thirty years later.

Now tell me: Why are these not on Turkey's agenda? Is it because these issues are not talked about much in Turkey because they are less important than a slap between two football players? There will come a day, but are we ready for it as a nation? Or will we continue to throw mud at each other and drown in our own mud?

With respect and love.