Lithium for Fusion Energy

One of the biggest challenges facing fusion energy right now is the walls. What should we make them out of? Lithium may be the answer... Hope you all enjoy!

[@flo__60]

the monitor held up with zip ties in the middle of a nuclear fusion lab made me smile

[@TheWlarsong]

Loving the new markers. My wife was tired of the "Dying Cat" in the other room.

[@orange-micro-fiber9740]

I miss them! They were iconic.

[@ashnur]

@@orange-micro-fiber9740 just get a dying cat for each video...

[@no_more_free_nicks]

They are lithium markers you know.

[@mastershake42019]

I like the sounds. Very nostalgic of my high-school days

[@Unbreaded1984]

When he used those markers I would keep looking at the dogs thinking something was wrong.

[@jenpsakiscousin4589]

I’m an engineer, mechanical, but you guys are on a whole different level.

[@megarural3000]

The Lithium must flow...

[@ca1ib0s]

Are you a member of the Fusion Guild?

[@Spright91]

This guy is such a great communicator he deserves much more recognition of his talents.

[@deezynar]

'Flowing molten lithium', needs to be a verse in a heavy metal song.

[@georhodiumgeo9827]

deezynar make that a heavy metal song but lighter.

[@deezynar]

@@georhodiumgeo9827 Yes, heavy metal is much better! I'm changing it to that. Thanks.

[@georhodiumgeo9827]

deezynar it was just a joke on lithium being less dense than other metals. Siris has a station named lithium because they play lighter rock. They think they are so clever lol.

[@deezynar]

@@georhodiumgeo9827 I have not heard of that. It sounds clever to me.

[@bernardthedisappointedowl6938]

@@deezynar Here's a lighter metal band, ^oo^ kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5Pdl3yEqKiWjLs

[@jt92]

This guy is on a whole other level than all the other science you tubers I’ve seen. His videos are amazingly easy to follow given the complexity of what he’s explaining. You can tell it must be awesome to have him as your professor.

[@benjamin1990]

Best stuff on youtube rn Thank you Prof

[@user-kf1xn1dq9t]

7:52 "We have this complicated fusion device" shows some shiny high tech looking thing 8:11 "And also we have this complicated fusion device" shows some foil wrapped gizmo

[@antoniodelfino7737]

4:53 nice headphones

[@alexmercer3777]

I actually laughed LOL. Good eyes.

[@anchorbait6662]

Just discovering your videos. Love them. Been watching and trying to catch up on all of them. Thank you for the work you do.

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

What I love about this video is that as you were talking about the solution more and more, the more my train of thought about where you were going next became identical to the actual experiments. This is a really interesting way to flow the lithium across the reactor walls without adding much complexity to the reactor design. The fact that the temperature difference can turn the liquid metal into an electric motor that pumps the liquid metal across the surface of the reactor is just such an awesome way to solve the problem of being able to pull heat out of the chamber and circulate the lithium for fuel recovery.

[@SkinnyCow.]

I think I understood maybe 5% of what this guy was on about. But I am now 5% wiser than before the video so thank you sir. You are a good teacher.

[@Joe4USMC]

This is an especially great video, Dr. Ruzic! Thank you very very much for sharing your knowledge and the good news that fusion is coming!

[@aby0ni]

I watched all your videos in the last two weeks, I loved all of them and I was sad when there wasn't any more for me, so I rewatched many of them. You break down complex subjects so clearly and you will be the reason many join the field of energy. And to me this is the best science channel on youtube. Thank you Dr. Ruzik.

[@sraiken]

Very clever idea and good solid research. Good work. I loved your labs, I used to have several research labs under my guidance, missing them a bit now.

[@JackClayton123]

Thanks for the new markers! As usual, an excellent presentation!

[@loungelizard836]

Excellent, thank you for making and sharing this video with us!

[@alexisrdevitre]

Every time I check in at the channel, the newest video looks more interesting than the last!! It is as if the channel was working hard to drive me away from the mindless entertainment.... loving it =)

[@bobnovac3558]

This doc rock actually look forward to listening to him! Brilliant man to say the least.

[@Acefighterx]

Just found your channel a couple weeks ago. I've seen so many of your videos. They are excellent! Thanks and keep doing what you're doing!

[@Songfugel]

Actually, ARC is already reducing the size factor compared to ITER by 70 using newer much much stronger and higher temperature super conductive magnets. Now more than ever, fusion energy's evolution looks so interesting and promising for the coming years and decades

[@illinoisenergyprof6878]

Yes, ARC is a good idea, and we are starting to work with them to possibly investigate adding lithium too.

[@Songfugel]

@@illinoisenergyprof6878 This sounds awesome! Btw, your channel's videos are my most shared videos out of any channel to date. Please keep up the good work

[@paulmcmc4005]

The Wendelstein-7 stellarator is a stunning piece of engineering in itself. Thanks Professor, you explain complex subjects so well. Bravo Sir🙏👍

[@bobthebomb6498]

Fascinating. Looking forward to the new content.

[@joshuaevans4301]

This is fantastic stuff! Ieally gets me exited for the continuing prospects of fusion power

[@JordanBergstrom]

Dr. Ruzic- Chemistry major here from Oregon State University. It’s been a few years, but I did take calculus-based physics and 5 terms of calculus. Solid A- average in all of those. This video was you at your best: you remind me of stories I’ve heard about Feynman, in that you are very very good at simplifying the science into something everyone can understand. I started the video by thinking “how the hell can you have molten Lithium flowing on the walls of the reactor??”. When you mentioned the voltage in the Lithium channels, for a second I thought you were going to say that the flowing Lithium would create its own magnetic field that would help the confinement of the plasma. When you talked about Force from B-cross-J, my jaw dropped just a bit and I thought “HOLY CRAP THAT’S AWESOME!”. When you started talking about your research and gave a mini-tour of your lab, I thought “....yeah, I won’t be surprised if he gets a Nobel Prize in the next 10 years...”. These were just some thoughts I wanted to share. This is possibly my favorite video you’ve posted, the contender being your Chernobyl video. I’d love to see more videos (as much as can/choose to share, of course) of the research that you do. It brings back a part of that Chemistry/Calculus/Physics chimera from my college days. Thank you very much, sir.

[@illinoisenergyprof6878]

Thanks! I really appreciate the comments.

[@dennisgarber]

This video is exciting indeed, since the cost and size, of the most likely to succeed fusion reactors, is the biggest turn off to myself. I really want to hear more about the results from the testing of this idea, which is key to fusion actually bring down energy cost..... I really enjoy most of this channel's videos, above most other channels. Probably, due to the magnitude to the Future of every topic, as well as the clarity of the presentation.

[@H2oRiz]

Shut your pie hole. Never seen anyone spend so much time talking about themselves.

[@alexmercer3777]

I'm attending college and I hope to get a degree in applied physics/physics. People like you really inspired me, professor. I hope to be part of the effort to make fusion energy a reality.

[@tamasmihaly1]

Beautiful and elegant solution.

[@kaylawuvscookies]

ITER? More like YEETER! I'll be here all week...

[@ProjectPhysX]

How do you keep it from dripping from the ceiling? Is the capillary forces enough to keep the Lithium in the ridges?

[@bv1989ro]

It spins so it doesn't anything else to keep it from dripping

[@illinoisenergyprof6878]

Surface tension is enough if the trenches are narrow enough. Spinning is also a solution, but it is not needed for this technique.

[@Gnefitisis]

@@illinoisenergyprof6878 Figured, but dont know much of the surface tension of liquid metals.

[@88Superphysics88]

@@illinoisenergyprof6878 I am the author of the third method of achieving nuclear fusion, this is the repetition of physical conditions as in the solar corona. In 6 months there will be a small prototype of a commercial fusion reactor. A commercial fusion reactor in 1-2 years! Power 100 kW. For many years (almost 25 years) I have been convincing scientists that thermonuclear fusion in the Sun occurs not in the core of the Sun, but in the solar corona !!! But scientists are very stubborn, and do not want to believe the obvious. Why are scientists not accepting new breakthrough scientific ideas? There is an assumption, accepted by most scientists, that thermonuclear fusion in the Sun occurs in the Sun's core. But no one has ever actually confirmed this. This is just a guess, the fantasy of an authoritative physicist. Scientists are currently using two methods to achieve nuclear fusion: inertial confinement and magnetic confinement. But there is also a third method of achieving nuclear fusion, this is the repetition of physical conditions as in the solar corona. Nobody is using this third method to achieve nuclear fusion? In 6 months there will be a small prototype of a commercial fusion reactor. A commercial fusion reactor in 1-2 years! I propose a technology transfer for a commercial fusion reactor under a contract. Thermonuclear fusion in the Sun - a new version. n-t.ru/tp/ie/ts.htm kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6umcn-gbZlrrrc

[@razinkaXL]

This is my first comment on KZbin ever. Seeing such content and that so many people are watching and discussing this in a civilized manner gives me hope that through technology our future will be bright. All will be well.

[@markiangooley]

The Dutch actually call that device Magnum-PSI. Lovely!

[@thomaswhitten1612]

A joy to watch.

[@hidingdissident]

Very fascinating video! All of your videos are for that matter.

[@mustafaatatuzun3181]

thank you for your videos. I watch ALL of them. please keep posting and feed us with applied physics.

[@MegaMech]

In highschool they said a fusion reactor was impossible to make. They also said we never landed on the moon...

[@salerio61]

Change schools, obviously nut-jobs

[@MegaMech]

@@salerio61 that would have required changing cities. Never considered that. Maybe I should have. Most teachers are nut jobs cause they cant get a real one.

[@Shigawire]

Excellent video. Thank you.

[@houmamkitet9555]

Thank you for this amazing video professor, you are the idol of a scientist in my eyes one i hope to strive towards in my own field

[@ArtoRoad]

YES! Your videos are the best goodnight stories for me and my fiance :)

[@englishcountryliving448]

Beautiful to watch

[@aleksandrasliauska6116]

this is so incredible, i love your videos!

[@simon1italy]

I have just decided that from now on, instead of saying "the sh!t hits the fan" I 'll say "the heat hits the wall" 👍

[@jessejames6216]

I have to thank you Sir 🙂 you have shined light on what I never thought I'd be I don't know exactly how to describe it and I'll do my best to do what you do best and boil down cut the fat off and make simple what is complex (in this case it's my awkward live for another man LOL I'm married don't worry I just love you adore you and you've opened a whole new world for me with your videos please keep making them I swear on my mother's eyes I'll remember these lessons and will pay you cash money love dividends in due time Sir thanks for everything ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@heinrichberger3908]

Lithium also has the advantage to breed tritium using the neutrons from fusion. Nice!

[@sarcasmo57]

My 3 year old just asked me about lithium walled fusion, I'm so glad I saw your video.

[@ca1ib0s]

Hopefully she won't be 53 by the time its commercially viable.

[@yanikkunitsin1466]

KZbin recommendations?

[@ca1ib0s]

@@yanikkunitsin1466 Me or sarcasmo57? Yes. I'm not subscribed nor have I clicked the bell but they keep appearing in my feed because I keep watching them because they are always interesting and well explained.

[@ghoulbuster1]

Amazing work!

[@MoosesValley]

It sure sounds like the pieces are really coming together ... Amazing work !! The grad students in your lab are so lucky to be working on this and running these experiments and having access to all of that equipment ... But the big question is: how long until a small scale prototype is demonstrating this ?

[@happyhome41]

Impressive accomplishments.

[@jjeherrera]

Very well explained!

[@dustinM613]

cool channel , love the learning visually thing

[@morkovija]

Holy cow. My jaw dropped and left unaccounted for for half of that video

[@charlesgibson2171]

We also use thermalcouples in jet aircraft to detect engine fires. The increase in voltage triggers the master warning system.

[@gusbailey68]

Exciting stuff.

[@georhodiumgeo9827]

I was expecting woo science but an awesome video and I subscribed thanks for the great content. So the vapor pressure of the liquid lithium goes up as the temperature approaches its boiling temperature. I think you spoke to the small amount of vapor not fouling the process? Does the 6Li participate in the fusion or should say could it providing there were 3He? I guess I don’t have a grasp for energies at work here. Awesome and brilliant video, it changed how I think about plasma in a Tokamak. Good luck!

[@drscott1]

You should comment on the Safire project. They have witnessed profound effects from plasma and electricity, transmutation being one of the most interesting

[@Wildasd]

This was really informative. I'm wondering if there are any plans in place to test such a solution with DEMO or similar devices once ITER will hopefully work as intended.

[@oneofspades]

It must work. The solution is so elegant.

[@kurtismartin8986]

This the most underrated channel on YT

[@warrendargusch5873]

Do it Pro! Love your lab.....resembles an unordered mind!

[@antoniodelfino7737]

Your new production set up looks insane on OLED screens with that black background. Try it out, I promise you will not be disappointed.

[@nukemman]

Color me highly impressed!

[@blip1]

This channel is awesome

[@wesleysale1052]

A very clever way to use the lithium. Using Lithium6 helps soak up all the neutrons and gets you enough tritium to help fuel the system eventually.

[@jessejames6216]

Your awesome true to the word brother ☺️

[@mikeofborg2]

I want some time alone in your lab, LOL. So many awesome devices. I'm making a fusor myself at the moment, saving some cash for a high quality vacuum pump. Have my stuff set up for electrolysis of heavy water. Working on my screen set up and 1 inch thick acrylic vacuum chamber. I'm a ham radio operator so I have some high voltage transformers up to 10 Kilovolts and a variac to control my input voltage to the DC transformer. Hoping I can do some electrostatic confinement fusion by next year. I'm a beekeeper also, and we have the big fall nectar flow going on, and I'm doing treatments for varrora mites to get my bees pest free for winter. So right now my other projects are on hold until after the honey harvest. Hoping I can get some good videos of the fusor in star mode when I have things all ready to go. Last year I made a diy railgun, but the rails really wore out fast. After about 200 shots the rails were toast, and the projectile would not travel down them. There was too much slag and debris from previous shots. It was hard to take videos of it, because the emp it gave off when fired messed with the cameras.

[@lahockeyboy]

Professor R! You make me want to go back to College just to take your classes!

[@giuntafede91]

This video was great, very informative. I would like to know how you can extract energy from the reactor, because that does not seem like an easy task!

[@christopherleubner6633]

Cool lab. Would like to build a fusion reactor with you. Injection of lithium plasma would be a way to create tritium in situ, make the plasma more reactive to electrical snf magnetic fields, and lastly act as a mode converter to help turn magnet energy into heat. Just not too much at once.

[@rohscx]

Thanks!

[@MarkRose1337]

More advanced topic videos like this, please!

[@spiderjuice9874]

Questions: 1. Do you envision a difference in performance between Li-6 and Li-7 in this setup? 2. I take it that the surface tension of the liquid lithium will keep it in the trenches at the top where gravity would otherwise pull it out? 3. Lithium boils at 1330 °C - you are confident that the heat transfer out of the device can maintain the lithium below this temp even when the fusion extends out to the walls? Other than these concerns, your idea seems excellent to me.

[@spiderjuice9874]

Ah, I see your answer to another comment answers the surface tension Q2.

[@pauldenham2952]

essentially a lithium clutch in a vacuum, fuel lines feed in to the friction point to cause a reaction, clutch spins to provide throw out of heat and even out reaction, cooling lines turn into super heated steam.

[@mattsaderson3096]

Great video. There is huge BUT which was not told. It looks like it is better than what will be in ITER. The thing is, if it is so good, why do not we use it this way, that is the BUT which is missing in this video. We heard pros but what are cons?

[@SVSky]

I haven't heard Magneto-Hydrodynamic anything since Hunt for Red October =)

[@petarvanj4343]

You can also use Cobalt or Nickel Oxyde Hydrate PFC walls to achieve a similar effect to lithium walls This will create an approximate 30 times efficiency

[@bulgingbattery2050]

Lithium-7 was used in the Castle Bravo nuclear test. Originally, they were supposed to use Lithium-6, but it was in very short supply and was extremely expensive. Using Lithium-7 instead of Lithium-6 resulted in the yield being 15 megatons instead of the expected 8 megatons.

[@henrytjernlund]

Does the Lithium interact with the fast neutrons generated by the D-T reaction?

[@Willaev]

I'm a simple man. I see Illinois EnergyProf. I hit like.

[@Jcewazhere]

Isn't this like adding all the difficulties of an MSR to a fusion reactor? You need clean molten metal/salt in, then you fizz/fuse and create waste, then you need to separate out the waste products from the molten salt/metal and repeat the cycle all while maintaining a fusion reaction. It's very cool regardless.

[@jgurtz]

I wonder if there are galvanic corrosion concerns with all these dissimilar metals and high-heat environment?

[@CheezyDee]

Now while the liquid lithium is outside getting cleaned can it be used for steam generation, or even pre-heating fuel being added like an economizer? Can some of that current generated in the thermoelectric effect be taken out for power generation, or is it all needed to push the lithium around? What kind of conditions does the lithium need to be exposed to in order for it to transmute into tritium and be used as the fuel?

[@user-kr6ip6zm9o]

Tritium Breeding is the answer but we need to confirm that H-mode device like iter it works and control plasma instability in magnetic confinement fusion

[@arthurcpiazzi]

I was going to ask the same

[@Trey4x4]

Protect this man

[@sumitparida5328]

Wow you're so good

[@jessejames6216]

Your amazing 🤠

[@thegavinchase]

Hello professor great video im wondering the structure of the lithium used, is it lithium hydroxide, carbonate or lithium metal? Thanks 🙏🏻

[@TheFelipeaugustopixo]

Maybe you can you use centrifugal force and some movements to create a liquid chamber that is stable.

[@seankelly1291]

Elegant.

[@zapfanzapfan]

So, is the Lithium also the radiation shield? The neutrons from the T+D hit the Lithium and make more T that you can then extract?

[@killer9kid]

Great as always! Thank you!

[@Nonenone-rj9yp]

thank you for the video

[@Beastphilosophy]

Wouldn't whatever method used to introduce new Deuterium or Tritium to the reactor also cool it down? How do you replace the fuel lost to the reaction and the fuel that escapes into the Lithium?

[@mkozachek]

Do the thermocouple effects allow you to also measure the temperature of the molten lithium?

[@hiimswiss2930]

Any chance you can use the lithium as a heat exchanger at the same time? Seems like most of the energy from the reaction would be transfered to it.

[@matthewgrotke1442]

Nice idea Dr. Ruzic. Does the lithium and the chamber wall eventually become neutron embrittled? What does the logistics look like for replacing/disposing of the radioactive parts?

[@illinoisenergyprof6878]

The lithium is not adversely effected by lithium, but you are right that the structural material can be. There is a lot of work going on to find structural materials which will anneal their damage automatically, and there are some possible candidates.

[@matthewgrotke1442]

@@illinoisenergyprof6878 Thanks for the reply. I'm impressed by what you've done with physical experimentation. Top notch lab! Keep the videos coming. One of the best channels on youtube hands down.

[@alexisrdevitre]

So glad you removed the squeaking of the marker!

[@sergeolenek7414]

very intresting

[@yamilabugattas3895]

What are the current challenges of using something like this? Can you make a video about the economics of this kind of technique?

[@pirojfmifhghek566]

I wonder how big of a challenge is has been to remove the deuterium and tritium from the lithium. Does a lithium wall reactor's efficiency outweigh the amount of energy required to clean the lithium?

[@nielsharksen78]

How is the lithium desaturated of Hydrogen? How do you make sure the liquid lithium does not drop from the ceiling of the torus, does it circulate so fast around the torus that its centrifugal force suffices to keep it pressed against the wall? Fine Video as always.

[@illinoisenergyprof6878]

Surface tension is enough to keep it in place. Lithium's surface tension is four times that of water. We will take out the H basically by heating it up -- which is also something we get from the device!

[@nielsharksen78]

@@illinoisenergyprof6878 Thank you for the explanation!

[@ghoulbuster1]

@@illinoisenergyprof6878 So the Hydrogen just evaporates by the heat?

[@Rushmore222]

I need to harness those extraordinary heat exchange properties into my home a/c system somehow.