| Author | Message | ||
     Ochoa0042 |
i dont see how this lazer can cause a nuclear reaction, but if what they say is true, this is freaking awesome. Current fusion reactors are speculated within the next 50years, we might have just jumped ahead 50years with this breakthrough. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090530/ts_alt_afp/us itresearchmilitarylaser_20090530082418 | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Sounds promising. However, I'm skeptical the "greens" will ever let us have cheap abundant energy. That would interfere with their pathological desire to control everyone but themselves. | ||
| Bill0351 |
This has to be a new record for dragging a non-political post toward the political toilet! Yes! Greens HATE the idea that someone might invent a reliable, economical and truly clean source of energy! Greens HATE the idea of green energy! Their main goal is controlling your life, not cleaning up the environment! The truth is out! That makes PERFECT sense! | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
why is green being thrown into this? schwarz was just a announcer  (Message edited by ochoa0042 on May 30, 2009) | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Bill, you're so predictable  | ||
| Aesquire |
I was hoping the Farnsworth/Bussard electrostatic system would get built, but I'll take laser fusion, sure. What fuel? and can you make the reaction chambers modular to replace parts that get radioactive? Then you got practical power. To understand the derision on the "greenies", you must know a few facts. 1. misguided zeal & a lack of honesty kill millions of humans every year. Example, DDT & malaria. or, using food crops for fuel, causing food shortages. The zeal is understandable, and even laudable. The cause of cleaning up the way we use the Earth, is good. Unfortunately, you get a loss of honesty that run from simple exaggerations like "if we don't clean up XXX, we are all dead in X years." through absolute lies to protect funding. Also understandable, in part, since you get so much less in donations by saying, "there is a 27% chance that there will be will be a 6% degradation in living standards unless we clean up "X"..."... 2. The Green party in germany was indeed funded & supported by Soviet agencies. Aslo quite a bit of influence here in that sector. Ever notice that every problem in the universe has the same solution to some people? It always involves an increase in power & wealth on the part of the people who rule or want to rule you...and less for you. So, rational conservation & freedom from fossil fuels? YES. Irrational, emotion based religion? NO. That said, I'm all for green power, & this is pocket solar.!! the only thing is... I doubt the technical details are happening yet. It's been 50 years of "20 years away" and it does not give you a lot of confidence in the fusion field. Still, I think we could be due. I am optimistic for a Fusion breakthrough. I wonder what the mechanism is for taking the energy released and making it electrons in a wire? | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
there is no absolute way to harness the power of a nuclear reaction. the power given off from the reaction that will be used is the heat, and that heat will be transfered to a steam turbine. every possibility of nuclear energy will be thermo driven. i dont think is it possible to truly harness the actuall power of the atom. http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-12/mach ine-might-save-world in a popular science magazine had an article of an inventor that made a fusion reaction relatively cheap. he made fusion happen (thats the easy part), but harnessing the power is another story. very simple designs are the key how it works liquid metal inside the mechansim, which is spherically surrounded by pulsing actuators pistons. when activated those actuators all at once pulse and send a shockwave to the center of the liquid metal, and boom (Message edited by ochoa0042 on May 30, 2009) | ||
| Hootowl |
"I wonder what the mechanism is for taking the energy released and making it electrons in a wire?" It will more than likely be steam turbine driven generators, same as with coal, oil, and nuclear. The fusion reaction is simply another heat source. Here's to hoping the reaction is self perpetuating once kicked off, because it sure sounds like you need a crap load of energy to start it. | ||
| Hootowl |
Bah, you beat me to it Ochoa | ||
| Froggy |
Ok I got to state this, it pisses me off every time I click on the quick board and see this thread, ITS LASER, NOT LAZER! Ok back to my corner I go. | ||
| Aesquire |
If you use the Boron-Boron reaction, you get electrons straight up, plus heat to make steam. Also no neutrons, so you don't make the steel of the vacuum chamber radioactive. It requires a LOT more energy to fuse, though, and has not been previously done with laser or pinch systems. It should work fine in a Bussard style reactor, but I don't know when that tech will get explored more. I'm not sure that the nuclear diesel in Popular Science is going to work out, but I'm pretty sure the Tokamak is a dead end, unless it's one of those technologies that really has scale issues. It may be that just building a donut of well cooled magnets is the answer... but it may only work if it's the size of a stadium ( Astrodome), and not at house size. ( Cape Cod, ) I don't know, but if we had spent a quarter of the cost of the "stimulus bill" on fusion in the classic 1940-60's style "build actual hardware & see if it breaks" research mode, I'd bet we'd have something useful. ( be glad they didn't use phaser ) (Message edited by aesquire on May 31, 2009) | ||
| Swordsman |
"I don't know, but if we had spent a quarter of the cost of the "stimulus bill" on fusion in the classic 1940-60's style "build actual hardware & see if it breaks" research mode, I'd bet we'd have something useful." Yeah, like one less planet. "Aw crap, the reaction is out of control. That cooling system didn't cut it. Oh well." BOOOOOOOOOM! The sun gets a dance partner.  ~SM (Message edited by Swordsman on June 01, 2009) | ||
| Fast1075 |
Dilithium is the answer, but it's not going to be discovered for about another 20 years or so. | ||
| Glitch |
Ok I got to state this, it pisses me off every time I click on the quick board and see this thread, ITS LASER, NOT LAZER! Fixed that for ya  | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Aw crap, the reaction is out of control. That cooling system didn't cut it. Oh well." A fussion power station wouldn't react like that. It's not like a hydrogen bomb. You've obviously been watching too many Keanu Reeves movies. | ||
| Froggy |
It still says lazer in the first post  | ||
| Glitch |
get over it  |
