15 replies to this topic

[A941]

What do you think, when will we be able to build a working Fusion Reactor which could produce enough energy to solve our Energy Problems?
After all we know about this form of Energy production it should be very effective, like the Sun.

[khakiman]

if anyone can do it MIT can... i can see everyone having a solar panel to fuel up their hydrogen fuel cell to power their house/car/appliances. Independence from the grid!

[Luna]

what do we do when the sun blows up ^^

[maxwatt]

what do we do when the sun blows up ^^

Move the earth to the orbit of Neptune, and ignite it as a mini-sun until we can latch on to a suitable younger star.

[Luna]

what do we do when the sun blows up ^^

Move the earth to the orbit of Neptune, and ignite it as a mini-sun until we can latch on to a suitable younger star.

what do we do when they all blow up then!

[maxwatt]

what do we do when the sun blows up ^^

Move the earth to the orbit of Neptune, and ignite it as a mini-sun until we can latch on to a suitable younger star.

what do we do when they all blow up then!

The ultimate heat death of the universe is more the problem than suns blowing up. The galaxies, the stars are all repelled by the cosmic force posited by Einstein, rushing apart at an increasing rate. The more distant galaxies will soon seem to wink out of existence, as they recede to the point where even their light can never reach earth. All will become cold and dark, at a temperature near absolute zero, even the nearest star being light years away, cold and invisible there would be no power source to reach it. As this natural outcome of cosmic expansion and increase in entropy is more than 50 billion years away, we have time to discover how to fashion another universe for ourselves. But first we need to achieve immortality, that we may visit nearby stars and galaxies and spread so that the unanticipated death of no single star can exterminate trans-humanity. Who needs warp drive?

[Luna]

what do we do when the sun blows up ^^

Move the earth to the orbit of Neptune, and ignite it as a mini-sun until we can latch on to a suitable younger star.

what do we do when they all blow up then!

The ultimate heat death of the universe is more the problem than suns blowing up. The galaxies, the stars are all repelled by the cosmic force posited by Einstein, rushing apart at an increasing rate. The more distant galaxies will soon seem to wink out of existence, as they recede to the point where even their light can never reach earth. All will become cold and dark, at a temperature near absolute zero, even the nearest star being light years away, cold and invisible there would be no power source to reach it. As this natural outcome of cosmic expansion and increase in entropy is more than 50 billion years away, we have time to discover how to fashion another universe for ourselves. But first we need to achieve immortality, that we may visit nearby stars and galaxies and spread so that the unanticipated death of no single star can exterminate trans-humanity. Who needs warp drive?

You're mixing things up again! this is the cold death or big rip, not heat death

[maxwatt]

what do we do when the sun blows up ^^

Move the earth to the orbit of Neptune, and ignite it as a mini-sun until we can latch on to a suitable younger star.

what do we do when they all blow up then!

The ultimate heat death of the universe is more the problem than suns blowing up. The galaxies, the stars are all repelled by the cosmic force posited by Einstein, rushing apart at an increasing rate. The more distant galaxies will soon seem to wink out of existence, as they recede to the point where even their light can never reach earth. All will become cold and dark, at a temperature near absolute zero, even the nearest star being light years away, cold and invisible there would be no power source to reach it. As this natural outcome of cosmic expansion and increase in entropy is more than 50 billion years away, we have time to discover how to fashion another universe for ourselves. But first we need to achieve immortality, that we may visit nearby stars and galaxies and spread so that the unanticipated death of no single star can exterminate trans-humanity. Who needs warp drive?

You're mixing things up again! this is the cold death or big rip, not heat death

The heat death of the universe is the death of heat, entropy makes energy gradients impossible, no "work" (physicists' definition) can be done, and it is quite cold. The explosion of stars is a temporary anomaly, and represents an increase in entropy, which is a decrease in the system's total energy gradient and is but a small step toward absolute zero.

[niner]

What do you think, when will we be able to build a working Fusion Reactor which could produce enough energy to solve our Energy Problems?
After all we know about this form of Energy production it should be very effective, like the Sun.

Never. I think we will be able to build a working fusion reactor inside of twenty years. I think it will cost a lot more than the energy will be worth. The real question is when will fusion be cost competitive with the cheapest environmentally acceptable alternative, bearing in mind that those technologies will also not be standing still. I suspect the answer to that is... never. At least as far as common terrestrial applications go.

[Reno]

Well, the national ignition facility is said to be about a year from creating a fusion reaction which produces more energy then is required to keep it active. If it is proven that it can be done with existing technology then there is no reason not to. It beats the shit out of having 40,000 barrels of crude a day wash up on the beach.

Edited by bobscrachy, 07 May 2010 - 05:12 AM.

[niner]

Well, the national ignition facility is said to be about a year from creating a fusion reaction which produces more energy then is required to keep it active. If it is proven that it can be done with existing technology then there is no reason not to. It beats the shit out of having 40,000 barrels of crude a day wash up on the beach.

If we could put an accurate price tag on the real cost of the BP blowout, then yeah, it would probably be greater than the cost of the NIF. That's not the real question though. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. I could eat a dozen donuts in one sitting! What we should ask is "what's the best use of our limited resources?" Fusion is a lot sexier than some of the alternatives, but I'm not convinced that it will ever beat the best alternatives in terms of real unsubsidized cost per kWh.

[Avatar of Horus]

Some developments:

The first plasma: the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device is now in operation
December 10, 2015
http://www.ipp.mpg.de/3984226/12_15
 
On 10th December 2015 the first helium plasma was produced in the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald. After more than a year of technical preparations and tests, experimental operation has now commenced according to plan. Wendelstein 7-X, the world’s largest stellarator-type fusion device, will investigate the suitability of this type of device for a power station.

[niner]

ITER is still gobbling money.  They recently pushed back the expected date for a fusion milestone by another six years, while the budget continues to expand.   Once again, If you calculate the amortized cost of development, the cost of building plants, the cost of running the plants, and the cost of decomissioning the plants, including disposal of neutron-activated, by then radioactive components, you will get a large sum of money.  If you then take the total amount of electrical energy produced by the hypothetical plant over its lifetime, you can arrive at a cost per megawatt hour.  Next do a similar calculation for other carbon-free forms of electricity like wind and solar.  How will these numbers compare?  I suspect that non-fusion forms of electric generation will be so much less expensive that a hot fusion plant will never be built, unless it is subsidized by a government somewhere in order to prove a point.

[Multivitz]

Transmutation principles. Or just go Thorium?

[Avatar of Horus]

MIT nuclear fusion record marks latest step towards unlimited clean energy
17 October 2016
https://www.theguard...ed-clean-energy
 

 

New record for fusion
Plasma Science and Fusion Center
October 14, 2016

http://news.mit.edu/...rld-record-1014

 

 

[Dad]

Thorium Molten Salt Reactors might indeed be a real alternative! I just saw this good talk:

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=-IiIdG0asbM