India Takes Big Leap In Artificial Sun Creation, Plasma Produced For First Time; What It Means?

India is heading towards creating its own artificial and the country's private sector is taking the initiative in that direction by exploring nuclear fusion.

A Bengaluru-based startup, Pranos Fusion, has created plasma for the first time in its compact Tokamak reactor PRAGYA.

Pranos developed the 40-centimetre-diameter reactor in just eight months. The reactor will be used to control and calibrate plasma and test other technologies related to nuclear fusion.

What is the work of PRAGYA?

PRAGYA has not been designed to generate power and intends to be used for testing purposes only. The plan is to operate it for approximately two decades.

At present, the goal is to conduct approximately 3,000 plasma shots annually. This means an average of 10 to 12 plasma shots will be generated daily to gather relevant information. This information could be used to develop larger fusion reactors in the future.

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What is a tokamak and how will it work?

A tokamak is a machine that contains extremely hot plasma controlled by magnetic force. For the fusion process, the gas is heated to a temperature high enough to transform it into plasma.

The science of fusion works to generate energy by combining two atoms, as it is generated in the sun.

The process is too delicate, and hence the scientists have long been working to create a way to control this process on Earth to generate energy sources.

Experiments running on PRAGYA

PRAGYA will first understand methods for controlling plasma, focusing on tokamak design, plasma control systems, and plasma testing techniques.

The company will also conduct research on high-temperature superconducting magnets, which could be useful for handling plasma in fusion machines. Continued experiments will provide a large amount of data that will be used to further improve fusion reactor technology.

What does plasma production mean and why is artificial sun crucial?

Plasma is the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid and gas. Its generation marks the foundation of the artificial sun, as nuclear fusion can only happen in this state.

For an artificial sun, the hydrogen fuel is superheated to get converted into plasma.

Countries like China, the US and the European Union are working on developing an artificial sun. The energy from nuclear material is generated through two processes - fission and fusion. In fission, atoms are split to generate energy, like the already established technology used in nuclear power plants.

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On the contrary, fusion is combining two atoms to generate energy. The process is yet to be completed on Earth and happens every second on the Sun. An artificial sun works by fusing lightweight hydrogen atoms together to form helium. This process releases an enormous amount of energy, which is clean with virtually no carbon emissions and minimal long-term radioactive waste.