Posted on 06/28/2024 9:41:57 AM PDT by Red Badger
The NIF Target Chamber at Lawrence Livermore National Labs, where a laser-based fusion approach achieved scientific breakeven in December 2022
With the promise of unlimited energy, Xcimer has raised over US$100 million from investors and the US Department of Energy to develop a high-energy laser system that's intended for use in a practical fusion power plant.
For over 75 years, scientists and engineers have been pursuing the dream of harnessing fusion energy as a practical power source. Though there have been remarkable achievements, the goal has remained elusive. However, the prospect of providing humanity with all the clean energy it could need or want is too big a prize not to pursue.
The primary contender for fusion power is the tokamak, which uses a doughnut-shaped magnetic field to squeeze and heat hydrogen plasma to tremendous pressures and temperatures many times that at the heart of the Sun. These have achieved fusion, which is relatively easy – it can also be done by any hydrogen bomb or lab bench lash up. The tricky bit is to achieve nuclear fusion while getting more energy out than you put in, which is called fusion ignition.
(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...
Bkmk
So what, 20 years?
Inertial confinement fusion is starting to sound like the more feasible method to me, in my expert nuclear physicist opinion.
It was about moving from conventional nuclear power, to Breeder Reactors, and then to Fusion power.
29, tops......................
Just needs unlimited tax dollars...
To quote C.S. Lewis, “It’s always winter but never Christmas.”
This piece is a continuation of the fallacy of the NIL hype. The laser energy to fusion output was near equal. What the hype fails to mention is the amount of energy that was required to charge the laser’s capacitor banks and systems. My last review seemed to indicate that it a factor of 150.
Somebody, anybody; please debunk the following fusion concerns...
...havoc-wreaking neutron source fueled by tritium produced in fission reactors, powered by hundreds of megawatts of electricity from the regional electric grid, and demanding unprecedented cooling water resources. Neutron damage will be intensified while the other characteristics will endure in any subsequent fusion reactor that attempts to generate enough electricity to exceed all the energy sinks...source
This operation is a guaranteed retirement system just like CERN...
We will know when they “actually” reach sustainability when Sabine evaluates and tells us the truth...
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