What if Nuclear Fusion was possible on planet Earth?

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Profile Julie
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Message 1785150 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 7:40:27 UTC
Last modified: 6 May 2016, 7:58:02 UTC

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Profile Bob DeWoody
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Message 1785186 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 13:05:08 UTC

When I was in college 45 years ago all the experts were saying that a working commercial fusion reactor power plant was only twenty years away. That is exactly what is being said today. I seriously doubt that one kilowatt of power will be produced from such a reactor in the remainder of my lifetime.
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
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Message 1785190 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 13:22:49 UTC - in response to Message 1785186.  

When I was in college 45 years ago all the experts were saying that a working commercial fusion reactor power plant was only twenty years away. That is exactly what is being said today. I seriously doubt that one kilowatt of power will be produced from such a reactor in the remainder of my lifetime.


The concept would need very large funding but IMHO it is possible.
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Message 1785192 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 13:26:21 UTC - in response to Message 1785150.  
Last modified: 6 May 2016, 13:27:28 UTC

Nuclear fusion is what is happening in the sun. Fusion requires millions of degrees. No substance on earth can sustain those temperatures. We have produced nuclear fusion here on Earth in the Lab for a few billionths of a second. The plasma must be contained in a magnetic field; the Russians used their "Tokamak" some decades ago with some success.

As we have discussed on these forums over the years--Why would we want nuclear fusion here on Earth or in our spacecraft. Fast breeder reactors should be re-visited. Since we have had catastrophic events with our Fission reactors we should be very wary of moving to other reactors that are many more times difficult to contain.
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Message 1785195 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 13:43:36 UTC - in response to Message 1785190.  

ITER has already cost 15 billion dollars without producing a single watt of electricity.
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Message 1785199 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 13:50:50 UTC - in response to Message 1785195.  

ITER has already cost 15 billion dollars without producing a single watt of electricity.
Tullio


ITER is using magnetic confinement fusion. IMO inertial confinement fusion would be much more interesting on a large scale.
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Message 1785202 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 13:56:43 UTC - in response to Message 1785199.  

Inertial confinement is searched at Livermore National Laboratory as a military program producing micro H explosions.
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Message 1785207 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 14:30:39 UTC - in response to Message 1785202.  

Inertial confinement is searched at Livermore National Laboratory as a military program producing micro H explosions.
Tullio


Where I'm going to would be an inertial confinement fusion process on a large scale i.e. confinement tanks the sizes of towns or cities. Appropriate sites for this would be deserted areas such as the Sahara desert.
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Message 1785224 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 16:00:33 UTC

A star in a bottle
The mind is a weird and mysterious place
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Message 1785232 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 16:23:25 UTC - in response to Message 1785207.  

Appropriate sites for this would be deserted areas such as the Sahara desert.

There are many political obstacles to such projects.
DESERTEC was a large scale project that would harness energy from the sun.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertec#Obstacles
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Message 1785233 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 16:32:13 UTC

Fusion has been around since "Ivy Mike"
Its just not controllable
Life is what you make of it :-)

When i'm good i'm very good , but when i'm bad i'm shi#eloads better ;-) In't I " buttercups " p.m.s.l at authoritie !!;-)
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Message 1785234 - Posted: 6 May 2016, 16:32:23 UTC

We have a huge fusion reactor at a safe distance, the SUN. Last year 8% of electric power in Italy was produced by photovoltaic panels. This, plus hydroelectricity, wind power and a little geothermal production brought Italy's renewable power production to 40% in 2013. This is the way to go. We need to build a smart electric grid and develop electricity storage to use at night.
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Message 1785706 - Posted: 8 May 2016, 1:04:47 UTC - in response to Message 1785688.  

Wrong on every account !!
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Message 1786042 - Posted: 9 May 2016, 5:40:22 UTC - in response to Message 1785224.  
Last modified: 9 May 2016, 5:43:46 UTC

A star in a bottle


Wow.. Thanx for that link Gordon. I wonder whether the concept has already been realized.
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Message 1786052 - Posted: 9 May 2016, 6:00:24 UTC

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Message 1786063 - Posted: 9 May 2016, 6:36:03 UTC
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Message 1786075 - Posted: 9 May 2016, 7:19:45 UTC

A fusion experiment only produces 14 MeV neutrons. To get some electricity, you must use them to heat water and produce vapor, which moves turbines which power alternators. There must be a simpler way to boil water.
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Message 1786109 - Posted: 9 May 2016, 12:09:11 UTC - in response to Message 1786075.  

A fusion experiment only produces 14 MeV neutrons. To get some electricity, you must use them to heat water and produce vapor, which moves turbines which power alternators. There must be a simpler way to boil water.
Tullio

Not if you want to eliminate the carbon footprint. Otherwise burning coal comes to mind.
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
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Message 1786150 - Posted: 9 May 2016, 15:02:45 UTC - in response to Message 1786109.  

In effect, there was a sketch on the "Nuclear Engineering International" magazine of two engineers looking at a big BWR (Boiling Water Reactor). One says to the other: there must be a simpler way to boil water.But all reactors producing heat, whatever their fuel, must obey the laws of Thermodynamics.
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Message 1786210 - Posted: 9 May 2016, 17:34:04 UTC - in response to Message 1786178.  
Last modified: 9 May 2016, 17:35:30 UTC

If we go to basic research one could also mention cold fusion, or muon-catalyzed fusion, which goes back to Andrej Saharov. But if we stay within nuclear engineering and its long experience with coolants in Fission reactors, we must think of the simplest solution, that of boiling water.
Tullio
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Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : What if Nuclear Fusion was possible on planet Earth?


 
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