Top 10 Amazing Facts About ITER Fusion Reactor:

Energy source, no matter of which type, is an essential and must needed part of the universe. We are always curious to find a source of energy that is renewable and cost-effective. Creating a tokamak is part of that.
  Have you ever studied about toroid. Well, if you don't, below is the simple definition and diagram that will help you to understand.

Toroid : The toroid is a hollow circular ring on which a large number of turns of a wire are closely wound. It can be viewed as a solenoid which has been bent into a circular shape to close on itself.


Tokamak is somewhat like a great toroid and it is used to demonstrate fusion power using plasma, the fourth state of matter.
ITER or International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is an international research and development project that aims to demonstrate scientific and technical feasibility of Fusion Power. ITER Project rank it among the most ambitious science endeavors of our time.

Here is the Top 10 Amazing Facts About ITER :

1. Strands used in ITER can wrap the Earth twice
100,000 kilometres of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) superconducting strands are necessary for ITER's toroidal field magnets. If stretched end to end, the Nb3Sn strand produced for ITER would wrap around the Earth at the equator twice.

2. Special designed road for transportation of the components 
The heaviest components of the ITER machine will be shipped to the nearest Mediterranean port and then transported along 104 kilometres of specially modified road known as the ITER Itinerary.

3. Ten times the temperature at the Sun's core 
The temperature at our Sun's surface is 6,000°C, and at its core—15 million°C. Temperature combines with density in our Sun's core to create the conditions necessary for the fusion reaction to occur. In the ITER Tokamak, temperatures will reach 150 million°C—or ten times the temperature at the core of our Sun.

4. Weighs more than three times the Eiffel tower 
The ITER machine will weigh 23,000 tonnes. The metal contained in the Eiffel Tower (7,300 tonnes) can't compare ... the ITER Tokamak will be as heavy as three Eiffel Towers. The vacuum vessel alone, with its ports, blanket and divertor, weighs 8,000 tonnes. Approximately one million components will be integrated into this complex machine.

5. Twice the thrust of a space shuttle 
The structure of the ITER central solenoid—the large, 1,000-tonne electromagnet in the centre of the machine—must be strong enough to contain a force equivalent to twice the thrust of the Space Shuttle at take-off. That's 60 meganewtons, or over 6,000 tonnes of force.

6. Whole structure is heavier than the Empire state building 
Some 400,000 tonnes will rest on the lower basemat of the Tokamak Complex, including the buildings, the 23,000-tonne machine and equipment. 400,000 tonnes—that's more than the weight of New York's Empire State Building.

7. 42-hectare platform, nearly the size of 60 soccer fields 
The main feature of the 180-hectare ITER site in Saint Paul-lez-Durance, southern France, is a man-made level platform that was completed in 2009. This 42-hectare platform measures 1 kilometre long by 400 metres wide, and compares in size to 60 soccer fields.


8. 500 MW of fusion power 
ITER has been designed for high fusion power gain. For 50 MW of power injected into the Tokamak via the systems that heat the plasma it will produce 500 MW of fusion power for periods of 400 to 600 seconds. This tenfold return is expressed by Q ≥ 10 (ratio of heating input power to thermal output power). Present record is Q=0.67.

9. Taller than Arc de Triomphe 
The Tokamak Building will be slightly taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Measuring 73 metres (60 metres above ground and 13 metres below), it will be the tallest structure on the ITER site.

10. Plasma content volume of 830 cubic meter
The ITER Tokamak will be the largest ever built, with a plasma volume of 830 cubic metres. The maximum plasma volume in tokamaks operating today is 100 cubic metres—reached in both Europe's JET and Japan's JT-60. The production and control of such a self-heated plasma has been the goal of magnetic fusion research for more than 50 years.

Bonus Fact :
Every one of the ITER Tokamak's 18 D-shaped toroidal field coils will weigh 310 tonnes. The coils will be unloaded from ocean-going vessels before being transported along the ITER Itinerary on radio-controlled transporters. 310 tonnes is the approximate weight of a fully loaded Boeing 747-300 airplane. Each toroidal field coil is 17 metres high and 9 metres wide.

Is creating such a great structure like ITER, which will have a very high temperature,  dangerous?

No, there is no danger in creating such a great structure. It is true that the temperature of the plasma will be very high but the its density will be much less, about million times less than air. It is designed in such a way that it can resist an earthquake like one Japan had seen in 2011. For more information, visit the official website or click here.


Source : iter.org