Fusion energy, will we succeed?

[sonic190178]

well i have notice on this site there are alot off people who will knock other peoples ideas but dont have that many ideas them self ?

its easy to knock ideas ?

and i thought this was a site were people discuss ideas

99% of us will not be experts

but you dont have to be a expert to discuss ideas

no offence

[JB80]

It will never be free. Assuming that they crack fusion power generation (and my view is that they will), then you still have to build and maintain the power stations, distribute it, maintain a grid etc. The only "free" that you get is freedom from having to rely on fossil fuels.

Free energy is kind of a misleading term, it shouldn't be thought of as costing nothing.

Naturally we will have to pay for the privelage but the term "free" in this case would be what you said last. I can see why people would get confused though.

[Naemeth]

I'd say the only "free" energy we get is energy from the Sun.

[Zakalwe]

Would Biomass be sufficient to use for Steam Reforming?

I don't know. The current method used is probably the most efficient and cheapest method of generating H2. But the H2 is being used downstream for industrial applications, and not power generation. And there lies the rub. It's currently cheaper and easier to use fossil fuels and hydrocarbons to generate power than the alternatives (nuclear and renewables). The politicians won't legislate against the current methods (look at the shambles that is carbon credit trading and the US's refusal to get on board with Kyoto and others schemes) , so we keep on burning fossil fuels like there is no tomorrow. Look at Germany's mass withdrawal from nuclear power, which was driven by public opposition to nuclear after the Japanese tsunami. I might be wrong, but the last time I looked the chances of Germany suffering a tsunami were pretty damn small!

well i have notice on this site there are alot off people who will knock other peoples ideas but dont have that many ideas them self ?

its easy to knock ideas ?

and i thought this was a site were people discuss ideas

99% of us will not be experts

but you dont have to be a expert to discuss ideas

no offence

I WAS discussing your ideas. But you kept repeating the same points even after they were shown to have issues with them.

Alternative energy sources are difficult to manage, don't generate enough power at the right times and are expensive. For sure we need alternatives to our current way of doing it, and we need them now.

[Zakalwe]

I'd say the only "free" energy we get is energy from the Sun.

Pretty much. Which sorta makes fossil fuels "free".

Wind, tidal, biomass, solar...all driven directly or indirectly by the Sun. What we really need is a nice Dyson sphere

[Cath]

Fusion power is definitely possible, no question about that. The problem is that we have yet to find out how to do it (and safely) here on Earth.

If we could create Anti-Matter then that would provide us with a way of converting atoms into pure energy (somewhat more than fusion would give us).

[Naemeth]

I've read previously a lot about solar panels in geostationary orbits / orbiting the Sun, the main problem of course is getting that power back to Earth.

A lot of CO₂ in the atmosphere could at least make the Earth more efficient in it's use of energy produced from the Sun.

[sonic190178]

my point was when the fossil fuels have gone maybe we will have to use less effcient ways off making power

all i was saying a would start using them now why we still have fossil fuels to rely on

[Zakalwe]

You'd probably have the same issues to contend with Cath, namely containment and feeding the reaction.

I am sure that they will crack the fusion problem...it's just a matter of when. ITER is planned to produce ten times the energy it consumes, so they can clearly do it. Doing it on a mass scale and cheaply enough is the issue.

The Americans also have the National Ignition Facility. Although that is for research it is also possible to use its techniques to initiate fusion, so that may be another option?

[Zakalwe]

my point was when the fossil fuels have gone maybe we will have to use less effcient ways off making power

all i was saying a would start using them now why we still have fossil fuels to rely on

You are right Sonic..once the FF are gone we have no other option but to find other ways of producing power.

Part of the problem though is that the public (hence the policy makers) will not accept the consequences of a mass switch over to renewables. No-one wants to pay more for energy (look at the news about the current cost of energy). NIMBYs won't have turbines near them. Nuclear is getting panned over stupid mass reactions to the Japanese Tsunami.

It's a bit like everyone saying that it is wrong for Chinese factory workers to have to work so many hours for so little pay, yet we all want £10 ASDA jeans and iPhones....

[sonic190178]

speak for your self on the asda jeans

[Zakalwe]

speak for your self on the asda jeans

Personally I go for the £3 ones! Thank Jebus for Chinese slave labour!

Man of fashion, thats me!

[sonic190178]

Personally I go for the £3 ones! Thank Jebus for Chinese slave labour!

Man of fashion, thats me!

yeah

or maybe we could learn to manipulate the higgs field so we could remove the mass of the fuel and relese fuel as 100% energy

[symesie04]

They already have achieved nuclear fusion! Its just that they havent been able to create the chain reaction required to make the energy generated viable. At present (like many of the new found energy solutions) requires more energy put in than is returned. Its worth noting that at present world funding into fusion research is only 3 or so billion anually which really is quite ridiculous. Think the problem is that the western world is so reliant on fossil fuels not as a fuel but as a prop to its economy that a sudden change could prove catostrophic to those fragile economies. What goverment would possibly want to invest in its own demise?

[Cath]

Yes I realise they have achieved fusion but they have problems they need to overcome before we can make good use of it.

JET's fusion reactor can do it but it only lasts for a second or two at the present time. Their problem is that the fusion process destroys the inside of the fusion chamber.

They will work it out eventually. Whether they will achieve it in time (or not) is the question/problem. Unfortunately we are running out of time, all goverments around the world really ort to be helping to fund the science NOW, and not wait until we get REALLY desperate.

[JulianO]

They've also achieved fusion quite a few years back, 1952 in fact, it also destroyed its container, and some of the island it was detonated on!

[symesie04]

Bikini Atoll?

[JulianO]

Bikini Atoll?

Close Enewetak Atoll

[symesie04]

And there i was thinking that was a planet inhabited by little bear like creatures!