Merged How Close is power from Nuclear Fusion

[Gord_in_Toronto]

We inch forward to Nirvana:

https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/ubc-boosts-nuclear-fusion-reaction-using-bench-top-reactor/61067/

Results: A modest but measurable boost

The experiment demonstrated a 15% increase in nuclear fusion reaction rates when electrochemical loading was combined with plasma implantation.

You're welcome!

 

[arthwollipot]

 

[shemp]

Yeah but it'll be boiling a ◊◊◊◊ load more of it!

In 50 years or so.

 

[Trebuchet]

Yeah but it'll be boiling a ◊◊◊◊ load more of it!

In 50 years or so.

Now, now, it's not going to be 50 years.
It's going to be 20 years. And in 20 years, it'll still be 20 years.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Whatever happened to the promise of magnetohydrodynamics?

It does not have to be boiling water but I guess this is another 50 years.

 

[shemp]

Whatever happened to the promise of magnetohydrodynamics?

It does not have to be boiling water but I guess this is another 50 years.

Weren't we told that water ruins magnets?

 

[Darat]

Yeah but it'll be boiling a ◊◊◊◊ load more of it!

In 50 years or so.

By then it will be too late. The Matrix got it wrong, the AI data centres will have used up all the easily accessible fresh water, the AIs will be using massive banks of humans to cool themselves not to generate electricity whilst giving us a virtual reality to live in, a virtual reality so realistic that it will be impossible to tell apart from reality or at least from The Sims.

 

[steenkh]

Magnets — who had ever heard about them twenty years ago?

 

[Helen]

Magnets — who had ever heard about them twenty years ago?

And still no one understands how they work. Except that they drown if you pour water on them.

 

[ahhell]

View attachment 66357

The thing is, steam turbines are pretty darned efficient, so why not boiling water?

 

[arthwollipot]

The thing is, steam turbines are pretty darned efficient, so why not boiling water?

Exactly. The entire history of energy has been the quest to find more effective and efficient ways of boiling water.

 

[theprestige]

It's all about converting energy to power, power to pressure, and pressure to work. It's not clear to me why water is the best medium for some of these conversion steps, but so what?

 

[arthwollipot]

Something something phase transition something.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

The thing is, steam turbines are pretty darned efficient, so why not boiling water?

The turbine itself may be efficient, but the overall efficiency of a steam power plant is only ~30%. That means 70% is wasted as low-grade heat, over twice as much as the useful output. There is one case where that 'waste' heat could be useful - for heating buildings in cities during the winter, but this is a very limited application.

The idea that nuclear fusion will give us 'unlimited' energy is wrong. Eventually all energy become low-grade heat which heats up the planet. Right now all the energy we produce is only about 1% of total global heating which is barely significant, but we all know how that goes. With 'unlimited' energy production it won't be long before the global temperature rise becomes a big problem. This already is a (localized) problem with fission power plants, severely limiting where they can be situated.

But don't worry. There's no chance of nuclear fusion becoming viable in the foreseeable future, by which time renewables will have completely taken over making fusion unprofitable. The real killer for fusion is the cost of the power plant. To have any chance of being self-sustaining the plant has to be large as possible, and the design that finally achieves 'over unity' will be extremely complex and expensive. I predict the first plant to claim over-unity will actually just pass through grid electricity and call it fusion, since the cost will be lower!

 

[Trebuchet]

Exactly. The entire history of energy has been the quest to find more effective and efficient ways of boiling water.

Got to disagree. That's only the past 300 years or less. Before that, levers and animals.

 

[shemp]

Got to disagree. That's only the past 300 years or less. Before that, levers and animals.

So, before 1725, the history of energy was boiling animals?

 

[arthwollipot]

Got to disagree. That's only the past 300 years or less. Before that, levers and animals.

That's a fair point.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

There are concepts for power generation from Fusion that skips the heat conversion step, gaining energy from the change in the magnetic containment field.

Mostly theoretical at this point

 

[wea]

... Right now all the energy we produce is only about 1% of total global heating ...

may I ask what is the source for 1% ?

 

[Darat]

There are concepts for power generation from Fusion that skips the heat conversion step, gaining energy from the change in the magnetic containment field.

Mostly theoretical at this point

Lets get it so it can boil the kettle - then we can try some "theoretical" concepts.