Scientists are set to announce a major finding on fusion energy
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Kaarme
Great news. 30 years from now, we will have clean, efficient fusion power plants in every country willing to build them.
BLEH!
In the mean time, we'll have to stick with fission, hydro, wind, and solar (with storage), and find a way to get enough tritium to fuel the fusion plants...
Netherwind
It may be too late by that time.
vestibule
A net gain.
Cool. Or should that be hot.
RealNC
Unfortunately, the "more out than in" thing in fusion energy has been a lie, at least so far. The scientists get very creative with numbers and make it look like there's a net surplus. There isn't.
So I'm very pessimistic about this one.
Hypernaut
If only Big Oil would let that happen.
Kaarme
I do wish this would lead somewhere. The traditional tokamak model being tested in Europe seems to be highly complicated and expensive, which is not good for commercial use. How to make it last for a significant enough time is a big question. So, if the American laser technology offered a simpler solution, it would be great. That being said, the American model doesn't seem to shorten the magical 30 years any better than the international one.
Mpampis
There's a landmark amount of energy, relative to the one needed to initiate fusion (not more than the one produced at a certain timeframe), that needs to be achieved.
Calculations showed that once you pass that point, the fusion process will then be able to sustain itself.
I'm guessing the announcement will probably say "Hey, we've found a way to pass that point, now we need to actually do that in a sustainable way".
Fusion really is the holy grail of energy production since it only releases helium as a byproduct.
RealNC
There's also radioactive waste, not just helium. But the radioactive waste is manageable. From what I can find, it decays fast. Less than 15 years half-life, so after 200 years very little of it is left. Unlike the waste from nuclear fission reactors that (for all intents and purposes) stays around forever.
Embra
Decades away, but still great news!
DownwithEA
I never understand people complaining that a bleeding edge technology is expensive or not optimal. Fission at a point in time seemed insane. Yet we did it. Fusion is just much more difficult. Give it time.
fantaskarsef
They shouldn't forget the energy needed to build the reactor in the first place, which can and will never be equal or less than what they get out.
Because this would mean abundant energy that comes out of nothing, and that runs forever, as long as we'd keep that reactor running, right?
And we all know by basic high school classes, perpetuo mobiles can't be built in this reality.
Silva
The problem with this tech is that for the past 50 years we've been only dreaming about it because allot had to be developed for it to work.
Only now we might have the powerful enough magnets and supper conductors to make it work.
Even if it's still 30 years away, many advances have been made in other areas and materials, knowledge it wouldn't exist if we didn't try.
It's the same as the space station: many things wouldn't exist if mankind didn't dream about the stars and had to find solutions to problems up there!
geogan
In old days we worried about nuclear waste emissions like gamma rays and plutonium.... now we just say "it doesn't emit carbon dioxide" o_O
Brasky
LOL!
JamesSneed
They haven't been preventing any new energy sources in a long time. They now own the new energy sources. Its a zero-sum game for them.
scoter man1
ftfy 😉
~AngusHades~
LOL. Critical thinking anyone .... Did anyone even go to school...
Meathelix1
What a bunch of bull, for Australia to even consider replacing coal stations we would need 8000 solar panels a day to be built and 50 Wind Turbines a month for 8 years straight!!! Just to equal our coal.
Think of all the land needed the materials needed, the time and money...
Germany has been trying to go green for over 10+ years, yet they are still finding it super hard to replace their energy with green energy. 🙂
Btw the Lithium resources are meant to run out by 2025, so good luck.
I don't believe any of this green stuff until the prices are half the price of what it currently is.
"Places coal in BBQ" Yummy.
asturur
Indeed consuming less energy and produce less energy waste is in general needed with coal and green energy.
We have to be a lot more attentive at what we do and how.
