Posted on 01/19/2025 4:52:03 AM PST by Pontiac
“Fusion is a reaction, and there’s a race right now to figure out the right machine to make that reaction happen here on Earth. The machine that would make the reaction would consume a fuel that everyone has access to - no need for uranium or plutonium and no nuclear waste - and would provide unlimited energy.”
Out of about 50 companies out there, CFS is the biggest. Mumgaard detailed advances that could lead to practical, production-level fusion processes. But challenges remain.
A reaction like this, he says, needs three things. It needs to be hot, dense and insulated.
Citing advances that outpace Moore’s law, Mumgaard suggested that a successful result in current research would lead to a plant that would outperform anything ever seen before. He explained that CFS purchased land on an inactive army base in Devens, Massachusetts, and created a commercially relevant demonstration facility called SPARC that uses high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets.
However, Mumgaard said his company announced the site on which CFS plans to build the world’s first grid-scale fusion power plant outside of Richmond, Virginia, bolstered by a collaboration with the utility, Dominion Energy Virginia. The proposed plant is expected to connect to the grid in the early 2030s..
Specifically, a team at Princeton University has been able to figure out how to use AI to understand and forecast plasma instabilities as the magnets work on the plasma.
In some ways, this is the most important application of artificial intelligence that you can think of. If it ends up saving our world from climate Armageddon, everything else is going to seem secondary.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Just because it isn’t in wiki doesn’t mean it never happened! Read the the pppl articles from the second half on the 70’s
We know how to create fusion, - we don’t know how to build the ‘wall’ that will contain it so it’s useful.
Nuclear fusion coupled with left-wing AI? What could go wrong?
LOL. I recall the company I had worked for teaming with Princeton University on fusion. Princeton had this nifty Tokamac reactor concept that was the “ bees knees” so to speak of fusion reactor design. All the stuff of confining the plasma with supercooled magnets and such.
I asked one of their “scientists” how long before their fusion reactor would be commercially available. He replied 10 years maybe 15. The only problem is that was nearly 50 years ago. Still no fusion reactor.
Indeed. I meant a comma and did not puctuate. LL, and "other competitors" to the company being highlighted in the article.
Agree also that there is "a long way between their very occasional demonstration shot and commercial fusion."
Yet, the companies, as the article mentioned, are all looking for investors. As with so much, this is about some else's money.
The problem with the critiques of the this story is that the contract signed here is not the first one for a fusion reactor.
A year ago another fusion company Helion Energy signed an agreement to provide Microsoft with electricity from its first fusion power plant, scheduled to begin operations in 2028. This collaboration represents a significant milestone in the pursuit of commercial fusion energy.
HELION
The planned facility aims to deliver at least 50 megawatts (MW) of power after a one-year ramp-up period. Constellation will serve as the power marketer and manage transmission for the project.
When something happens twice, something may well be going on.
Agree. Everything is exceedingly difficult with regards to fusion. But I think we had this same discussion a year ago when another fusion company Helion Energy signed an agreement with microsoft to provide electricity in 2028.
So that’s twice.
The interesting thing about this article is that they used AI to make some break throughs. That would make sense. Because you would think that AI would accelerate development.
In any case. We’ll see.
I wonder if anyone has put Cold Fusion to AI yet.
Maybe a powerful AI could figure it out.
I recall about 10 years ago that the DOE put out a request for bids to the nuclear power industry for the production of tritium.
It is an easy thing for nuclear power plants to produce tritium, but there is a two year lead time for you order.
Previously most of the tritium was produced by research reactors, but Clinton had most of those decommissioned.
Bwahaha. And it's technology is to use D He3 fusion. Where are you going to get the He3. One proposal going around is to mine the dark side of the moon. The other way to get He3 is from the decay of Tritium. And it requires a temperature of 40-60 keV vs 10keV for DT. As a famous person once said, what's the problem DT isn't hard enough for you?
The pilot plant should be ready within 30 years.
Yep, right around the corner! AGAIN!
There is plenty of ‘free’ energy, we’re just looking for it in the wrong place.
Nuclear fission can be used , temporarily, to supply enough energy for the world’s needs. The biggest problem is security.
However fission is not the best answer. Neither is fusion.
There are two physical forces in the Universe. Tension and Compression. We haven’t properly or fully explored them yet.
Even those two can be simplified into PUSH and PULL. Current forms of energy are based on PUSH. To move a spaceship from A to B one must move the matter in space out of the way. The faster one goes, the more energy it requires. It’s a logarithmic equation that goes off the end of the chart (in energy required) to get to the speed of light. That’s because we are fighting the energy of the Universe in trying to force it out of the way.
What we need to do is learn to get matter to separate creating a vacuum or void which pulls us into it. That pull draws on the entire Universe for power.
Our PUSH methods are inefficient and wasteful. We produce other forms of energy in a fight with the power of the Universe. It takes energy to overcome inertia and after that friction generates heat.
We use PUSH (explosion) to create (transform) energy. We need to learn to PULL (Implosion) because it is self-sustaining and efficient.
This knowledge has been lost and found over the eons.
The most recent work on the implosion principles was done by VIKTOR SCHAUBERGER back in the 50’s.
Good question. Beats the monkey poop out of me. So I asked perplexity.ai. “Where does Helion energy plan to get its H3 from?” This was the answer I received.
Helion Energy plans to produce helium-3 (He-3) through fusion reactions, rather than sourcing it externally. Their approach involves two main steps:
Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) Fusion: Helion will first perform D-D fusion reactions, which produce helium-3 as a byproduct12. This process allows them to generate their own supply of helium-3 on-site.
Tritium Decay: The D-D fusion reaction also produces tritium, which naturally decays into helium-32. Helion plans to store the tritium securely and allow it to decay, providing an additional source of helium-36.
By using these methods, Helion aims to create a self-sustaining cycle for helium-3 production, avoiding the need to source this rare isotope from external suppliers or lunar mining operations3. This approach is crucial for their planned deuterium-helium-3 (D-He-3) fusion reactions, which form the basis of their commercial fusion power plant design
This is a joke, right? D_D is even harder requiring 100 keV of temperature rather than the 10keV for D-T fusion. That's 1o times the temperature which means 10 times the pressure that the magnetic confinement system needs to contain, which means 3.3 times the magnetic field strength. DT fusion is already pushing the limits on what you can do with magnetic confinement using superconducting magnets. 10 times the magnetic stresses in the magnets means 10 times the mechanical stresses - and for those who forget, these things can blow up if you are not careful.
Someone is being had here. As Elon constantly says, tell me how this violates the laws of physics before you tell me it can't be done. Well these guys are violating the laws of physics. Now maybe someone can come up with better superconductors and stronger materials - but that is a stretch in and of itself and huge research project with no certainty of payoff.
Fusion is a reaction, as burning kerosene and oxygen is a reaction. But as everyone from Goddard to SPACEX have shown there is a lot of rocket science between a simple reaction and a flying controllable useable affordable relatively safe system.
The problem is not the reaction, but the system that is going to use that reaction to do all of the above. Anyone with a pedestrian accelerator can make the fusion reaction happen. What they cannot do is make a self sustaining fusion reaction that produces more thermal energy than it consumes and turns that energy into electrical energy at an economical cost with a sustainable fuel supply.
Well you have raised some very learned questions. I’m not leaned on this subject so just for the fun of it I typed in your objections into perplexity.ai. Here is the answer I got.
Helion Energy addresses these critiques of D-D fusion in several ways:
Innovative Technology: Helion uses a unique pulsed non-ignition fusion technology, which differs from traditional magnetic confinement methods5. This approach may allow them to overcome some of the challenges associated with continuous confinement of high-temperature plasmas.
Demonstrated Progress: Helion has already built six working prototypes and achieved 100-million-degree plasma temperatures with its sixth fusion prototype1. This demonstrates their ability to reach the high temperatures required for D-D fusion.
Closed-Fuel Cycle: Helion utilizes a patented high-efficiency closed-fuel cycle to produce helium-3 from D-D fusion6. This process allows them to generate their own supply of helium-3, which is then used in their primary D-He3 fusion reaction.
Focus on D-He3 Fusion: While Helion does use D-D fusion to produce helium-3, their primary focus is on the D-He3 fusion reaction4. This reaction is aneutronic, producing less neutron radiation and potentially simplifying reactor design2.
Electromagnetic Energy Capture: Helion’s approach involves capturing the energy of the expanding fusing plasma electromagnetically, which may reduce the need for traditional heat-based energy conversion systems2.
Rapid Development Timeline: Helion is targeting power generation of 50 MW or greater by 2028, which is significantly sooner than typical projections for commercial fusion power17. This aggressive timeline suggests confidence in their ability to overcome technical challenges.
Significant Investment: Helion has secured substantial funding, including $500 million raised in 2021 with commitments for an additional $1.7 billion upon reaching key performance targets5. This financial backing indicates investor confidence in their approach.
While Helion’s approach is innovative, it’s important to note that some experts remain skeptical. Critics argue that the D-He3 reaction is still challenging, with reactivity roughly equal to D-D and about 100 times less reactive than D-T plasmas2. Additionally, the production of helium-3 through D-D fusion would still face many of the challenges mentioned in the critique.
Ultimately, the viability of Helion’s approach will be demonstrated through their ongoing development and testing, particularly with their seventh prototype, Polaris, which is expected to demonstrate net electricity production by mid-2024
(I did a brief check on polaris. the answer there is that — so far —net energy production has not happened.) —unlike say, say at livermore.
Just try this one trick.....
See post #2
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