Posted on 11/11/2022 9:17:16 PM PST by SeekAndFind
As the world moves towards net-zero emissions, sustainable and affordable power sources are urgently needed by humanity.
As Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti details below, one of the most promising technologies, fusion, has attracted the attention of governments and private companies like Chevron and Google. In fact, Bloomberg Intelligence has estimated that the fusion market may eventually be valued at $40 trillion.
In this infographic sponsored by General Fusion, we discuss the benefits of fusion as a clean energy source.
Fusion powers the sun and the stars, where the immense force of gravity compresses and heats hydrogen plasma, fusing it into helium and releasing enormous amounts of energy. Here on Earth, scientists use isotopes of hydrogen—deuterium and tritium—to power fusion plants.
Fusion energy offers a wide range of benefits, such as:
Both atoms necessary for nuclear fusion are abundant on Earth: deuterium is found in seawater, while tritium can be produced from lithium.
Energy-dense generation like fusion minimizes land use needs and can replace aging infrastructure like old power plants.
There are no CO₂ or other harmful atmospheric emissions from the fusion process.
With limited expected regulatory burden or export controls, fusion scales effectively with a small land footprint that can be located close to cities.
Unlike atomic fission, fusion does not create any long-lived radioactive nuclear waste. Its radiation profile is similar to widely used medical and industrial applications like cyclotrons for cancer treatment.
Fusion energy is on-demand and independent from the weather, making it an excellent option in a dependable portfolio for power generation.
More than 130 countries have now set or are considering a target of reducing emissions to net-zero by 2050. Meanwhile, global energy demand is expected to increase by 47% in the next 30 years.
While renewables like wind and solar are intermittent and need a baseload source of clean energy to supplement them, fusion, when commercially implemented, could deliver clean, abundant, reliable, and cost-competitive energy.
Ever wonder what we humans would do
if the “science” told us that the earth was cooling?
Just ask Doc Ock that question.
Dr. Octopus from the SPIDER-MAN movies.
Absolutely right on the benefits. Really too bad NO ONE knows how to accomplish it on a useful scale yet. It’s a nice dream!
Minor problem, we don’t yet have the knowledge to make fusion work controllable for any length of time.
Even when we use it in our weapons we need a Fission source to set it off.
IIRC the reaction inside the sun makes lots of Gamma “Rays” that are somewhat harmful. Supposedly the photons that warm your body on a sunny day were made over a million years ago.
and are very attenuated Gamma “Rays”. Y’all can look it up.
Kind of like EV everybody wants to do it, but the technology isn’t there yet.
How about we use what we know how to do now.
Thorium reactors, modern u-235 reactors, recycling of waste u-235 fuel, et al, till we figure out how to control Gravity
to make Fusion work.
Since I was a wee lad (Now 66 y/o), I have been hearing about the likely benefits of fusion energy.
The main two benefits being #1. ‘A virtually endless supply of energy!’ #2. This form of energy is shockingly cheap and apparently easy to produce.
The end to the discussion of Fusion Energy normally goes something like “...But THEY won’t ever allow science to put this plan into action. It would take down Big Energy virtually overnight! There are too many billions of dollars at stake to let that be snatched away, just for the benefit of consumers. The consumers expect to be charged for it anyway.”
I don’t know what it true or not true about it.
I’m no scientist or engineer....or biologist either for that matter.
Now there’s a pointless question.
AND the number one benefit is the huge amount of tax dollars to make boondoggles like the ITER. Think Solyndra but on a budget of trillions.
“Climate Scientists” told us that in the 70s.
Fusion energy reminds me of the famous old sign you used to see in bars: FREE BEER TOMORROW.
Meanwhile the Molten Salt Thorium Reactor technology can be implemented TODAY, at a cost per megawatt cheaper than coal, and with only 1% of the high-level waste that the uranium/pressurized-water plants generate. Much safer, too, since the MSTR design doesn’t require power to run massive pumps if it has to be shut down. “Fukushima Syndrome” just isn’t possible if an MSTR plant is properly designed.
finally the jetsons
well maybe
sometime in the future
question
how are they going to develop fusion energy when we are completely dependent on wind/solar
sitting in the cold and dark wondering when our next meal will be
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