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Fusion confusion: Sorry, We have to throw a little cold water on the recent "breakthrough" in sustainable energy
American Thinker ^ | 12/17/2022 | Mark C. Ross

Posted on 12/17/2022 5:19:13 PM PST by SeekAndFind

The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore Lab (LLL) in Northern California has recently gotten a lot of attention.  It was just announced that they finally fused some hydrogen atoms and got more energy out than they put in — a net positive result.  Drew Magary, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, throws a little cold water on the event by adding that the lasers causing the fusion reaction were powered by electricity generated at way less than perfect efficiency.

hrowing more cold water, I was told by someone who worked on the facility in question that they already had a net positive event about fifteen years ago. I suggested that they might be tooting their horn now in order to get a bump in funding. He agreed.

What's being left out of the discussion is the commercial viability of the whole concept. Some years ago, Scientific American ran an article that compared nuclear power generation to that from natural gas. Building a natural gas generating station is fairly cheap, leaving the cost of fuel as the primary expense for producing electricity. A nuclear plant is particularly expensive to build — while the cost of enriched uranium is insignificant when calculating the bottom line. The amortization of the construction cost over the life span of the facility is the primary expense for nuclear...which is still fairly cost-competitive with gas, coal, and hydro.

This brings us to the possibly immense cost of building a fusion power plant. Magary also mentions the continuing twenty-year time horizon reset. When projecting the real-world implementation of fusion energy, the goal posts are constantly being moved farther and farther away. Now that we know that controlled fusion is possible, making it economically feasible is the true challenge.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Science; Society
KEYWORDS: breakthrough; fusion; nuclearenergy; physics; science; stringtheory
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To: ealgeone

So what is your type of nonsense?


21 posted on 12/17/2022 6:20:00 PM PST by EEGator
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To: EEGator

harry potter. if you like it that’s ok with me.


22 posted on 12/17/2022 6:22:09 PM PST by ealgeone
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To: ealgeone

LOL, no I meant what do you like to watch.


23 posted on 12/17/2022 6:23:58 PM PST by EEGator
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To: EEGator

other nonsense!!! generally conspiracy and sci-fi.


24 posted on 12/17/2022 6:26:35 PM PST by ealgeone
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To: SeekAndFind
From the article: "Now that we know that controlled fusion is possible, making it economically feasible is the true challenge."

Isn't our Sun controlled fusion? Is it uncontrolled? I see it up there almost every day and it seems to be working fine. Just can't find a 93 million mile extension cord. Not on Amazon. I checked.

;-)

25 posted on 12/17/2022 6:29:01 PM PST by Tunehead54 (nothing funny here ;-)
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To: ealgeone

The Matrix
Blade Runner
Blade Runner 2049
Equilibrium
Jurassic Park(s)
Starship Troopers
Aliens
Terminator(s)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
etc


26 posted on 12/17/2022 6:29:28 PM PST by EEGator
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To: EEGator

currently watching re-runs of Star Trek:TOS.


27 posted on 12/17/2022 6:30:16 PM PST by ealgeone
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To: SeekAndFind

I would never throw cold water on a device that has heated plasma to millions of degrees.

seems like common sense, but what do I know


28 posted on 12/17/2022 6:31:09 PM PST by algore
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To: ealgeone

Good stuff, enjoy.


29 posted on 12/17/2022 6:33:12 PM PST by EEGator
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To: EEGator

I just knew deep down you’d get a chuckle 😊


30 posted on 12/17/2022 6:39:14 PM PST by drSteve78 (Je suis Deplorable STILL )
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To: algore

“throw cold water on a device that has heated plasma”

That sounds like something that somebody would get pretty steamed up about.


31 posted on 12/17/2022 6:41:58 PM PST by drSteve78 (Je suis Deplorable STILL )
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To: EEGator
I was supposed to be in a flying car and sleeping with Judy Jetson by now.

You do realize that if Judy Jetson was 16 when the show premiered in 1962, she'd be 76 now.

32 posted on 12/17/2022 6:43:46 PM PST by chaosagent (Remember, no matter how you slice it, forbidden fruit still tastes the sweetest!)
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To: SeekAndFind

What a joke...
So it took 300 megajoules of energy to create 2.5 megajoules of energy for a fraction of a second...
That’s not a breakthrough...
They needed to produce more than 300 megajoules...
It sounds like it’s funding time again...


33 posted on 12/17/2022 6:47:49 PM PST by Pez149 (Time to stop saying a theory is fact....)
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To: ClearCase_guy

LOL, I have a feeling that we will always be 30 years away.


34 posted on 12/17/2022 6:51:00 PM PST by 2001convSVT (Asking questions is your right.)
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To: Pez149

You are right, it’s about funding. Way pass time to put this baby to bed. Let private industry do it,if it is even possible.

Just another waste of tax payers money, and devaluing the little money we have, through paying for everything through inflation.


35 posted on 12/17/2022 6:58:37 PM PST by 2001convSVT (Asking questions is your right.)
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s actually known as LLNL

My last job before retiring was on NIF. Fun project. Spends lots of money and keeps people busy. Will never amount to anything else


36 posted on 12/17/2022 7:07:56 PM PST by Nifster (OI see puppy dogs in the clouds )
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To: SeekAndFind

That “breakthrough” was strictly to get more funding.

It’s still “just around the corner”... as it’s been for the past 50 years


37 posted on 12/17/2022 7:16:31 PM PST by aquila48 (Do not let them make you "care" ! Guilting you is how thery control you. )
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To: SeekAndFind

Nah!.., What they need are dilithium crystals as a controlling agent in the matter-antimatter reactors. ha, ha, ha,!


38 posted on 12/17/2022 7:20:13 PM PST by Doc91678 (Doc91678)
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To: Chad C. Mulligan
Meanwhile LFTR (thorium) is within easy reach, but can’t get funding.

Thorazine has its moments too but can get very derned unfunny.

39 posted on 12/17/2022 7:23:35 PM PST by Fightin Whitey
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To: chaosagent

Umm, the show is from the future, she’s still young now.
Don’t crap on my dreams...


40 posted on 12/17/2022 7:29:01 PM PST by EEGator
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