Return to Answer

For most existing designs, magnetic fusion reactors are supposed to operate continuously, without need to stop for cooling down. For the easiest to achieve D-T fusion reaction, thermal energy deposited by fusion neutrons inside of the reactor wall (blanket) would be removed by active cooling and used to power a turbine and generate electricity. However, a fusion reactor would have to be stopped periodically, after operating for a ~1 year, for maintenance. The main reason for that is a high heat and neutron loading of the fusion reactor nuclear zone. The nuclear zone will be exposed to intense heat and neutron radiation, irradiation by ionized particles, and hard X-ray photons. This would severely limit the lifetime of nuclear components, for existing technology; replacing the nuclear components would require shutting down the reactor periodically. Note that ITER is not going to be a fusion reactor but rather a reactor-scale fusion experiment. It is planned to operate in pulses a few hundred seconds long.

For most existing designs, magnetic fusion reactors are supposed to operate continuously, without need to stop for cooling down. For the D-T fusion reaction (the easiest one to achieve), most of the produced energy will be released from the fusion plasma in neutrons. In most reactor designs, thermal energy deposited by those fusion neutrons inside of the reactor wall (blanket) would be removed by active cooling and used to power a turbine and generate electricity. However, a fusion reactor would have to be stopped periodically, after operating for a ~1 year, for maintenance. The main reason for that is a high heat and neutron loading of the fusion reactor nuclear zone. The nuclear zone will be exposed to intense heat and neutron radiation, irradiation by ionized particles, and hard X-ray photons. This would severely limit the lifetime of nuclear components, for existing technology; replacing the nuclear components would require shutting down the reactor periodically. Note that ITER is not going to be a fusion reactor but rather a reactor-scale fusion experiment. It is planned to operate in pulses a few hundred seconds long.

For most existing designs, magnetic fusion reactors are supposed to operate continuously, without need to stop for cooling down. However, a fusion reactor would have to be stopped periodically, after operating for a ~1 year, for maintenance. The main reason for that is a high heat and neutron loading of the fusion reactor nuclear zone. The nuclear zone will be exposed to intense heat and neutron radiation, irradiation by ionized particles, and hard X-ray photons. This would severely limit the lifetime of nuclear components, for existing technology; replacing the nuclear components would require shutting down the reactor periodically. Note that ITER is not going to be a fusion reactor but rather a reactor-scale fusion experiment. It is planned to operate in pulses a few hundred seconds long.

For most existing designs, magnetic fusion reactors are supposed to operate continuously, without need to stop for cooling down. For the easiest to achieve D-T fusion reaction, thermal energy deposited by fusion neutrons inside of the reactor wall (blanket) would be removed by active cooling and used to power a turbine and generate electricity. However, a fusion reactor would have to be stopped periodically, after operating for a ~1 year, for maintenance. The main reason for that is a high heat and neutron loading of the fusion reactor nuclear zone. The nuclear zone will be exposed to intense heat and neutron radiation, irradiation by ionized particles, and hard X-ray photons. This would severely limit the lifetime of nuclear components, for existing technology; replacing the nuclear components would require shutting down the reactor periodically. Note that ITER is not going to be a fusion reactor but rather a reactor-scale fusion experiment. It is planned to operate in pulses a few hundred seconds long.

For most existing designs, magnetic fusion reactors are supposed to operate continuously, without need to stop for cooling down. However, a fusion reactor would have to be stopped periodically, after operating for a ~1 year, for maintenance. The main reason for that is a high heat and neutron loading of the fusion reactor nuclear zone. The nuclear zone will be exposed to intense heat and neutron radiation, irradiation by ionized particles, and hard X-ray photons. This would severely limit the lifetime of nuclear components, for existing technology; replacing the nuclear components would require shutting down the reactor periodically.

For most existing designs, magnetic fusion reactors are supposed to operate continuously, without need to stop for cooling down. However, a fusion reactor would have to be stopped periodically, after operating for a ~1 year, for maintenance. The main reason for that is a high heat and neutron loading of the fusion reactor nuclear zone. The nuclear zone will be exposed to intense heat and neutron radiation, irradiation by ionized particles, and hard X-ray photons. This would severely limit the lifetime of nuclear components, for existing technology; replacing the nuclear components would require shutting down the reactor periodically. Note that ITER is not going to be a fusion reactor but rather a reactor-scale fusion experiment. It is planned to operate in pulses a few hundred seconds long.