Message boards :
Science (non-SETI) :
What if Nuclear Fusion was possible on planet Earth?
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Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 3387 Credit: 4,182,900 RAC: 10 |
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. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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. rOZZ Music Pictures |
William Rothamel Send message Joined: 25 Oct 06 Posts: 3756 Credit: 1,999,735 RAC: 4 |
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. |
tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
ITER has already cost 15 billion dollars without producing a single watt of electricity. Tullio |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
Inertial confinement is searched at Livermore National Laboratory as a military program producing micro H explosions. Tullio |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
Inertial confinement is searched at Livermore National Laboratory as a military program producing micro H explosions. 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. rOZZ Music Pictures |
Gordon Lowe Send message Joined: 5 Nov 00 Posts: 12094 Credit: 6,317,865 RAC: 0 |
A star in a bottle The mind is a weird and mysterious place |
janneseti Send message Joined: 14 Oct 09 Posts: 14106 Credit: 655,366 RAC: 0 |
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 |
Mark Stevenson Send message Joined: 8 Sep 11 Posts: 1736 Credit: 174,899,165 RAC: 91 |
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 !!;-) |
tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
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. Tullio |
William Rothamel Send message Joined: 25 Oct 06 Posts: 3756 Credit: 1,999,735 RAC: 4 |
Wrong on every account !! |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
A star in a bottle Wow.. Thanx for that link Gordon. I wonder whether the concept has already been realized. rOZZ Music Pictures |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
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 |
Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 3387 Credit: 4,182,900 RAC: 10 |
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. 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. |
tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
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. Tullio |
tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
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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