The Energy Thread

[Scott R Nelson]

Okay, after a bit more research, they're currently at five seconds, but still NOT getting more energy out than they put in.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022...-by-a-tokamak/

So yes, they need some more breakthroughs, but they expect to get them. Another issue is that deuterium is is fairly easy to acquire, but tritium isn't, and they need a bunch of that too.

I really hope that they can pull it of. Really.

[All-American]

Don't they need a few breakthroughs before this can happen? Or are they assuming they'll have it figured out in twenty more years.

I've followed progress on nuclear fusion and as far as I know, nobody has gotten more power out of a fusion reaction than they put into it for more than a fraction of a second. It would be cool if somebody has figured it out, but I don't think they have.

I think all of what you just said is accurate. We've not yet gotten more power out of a fusion reactor than put into it for more than a fraction of a second, we need a few breakthroughs, and they think the remaining logistical problems are of the nature that we can figure out in twenty years.

[All-American]

Okay, after a bit more research, they're currently at five seconds, but still NOT getting more energy out than they put in.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022...-by-a-tokamak/

So yes, they need some more breakthroughs, but they expect to get them. Another issue is that deuterium is is fairly easy to acquire, but tritium isn't, and they need a bunch of that too.

I really hope that they can pull it of. Really.

As I understand it, there is a theoretical process whereby tritium can be bred as an off-product of the fusion reaction. That's another logistical wrinkle in and of itself, but another problem that is less a science problem than an engineering problem. Not to minimize the difficulties finding the answer, but there does seem to be an available answer.

[Bo Diddley]

This has "opening pushed to the right" written all over it, but I'm glad they're moving forward. That's awesome!

[Pelado]

I wonder how much the current political scene in Europe (with presumably increasing energy costs) played in the timing of this announcement?

[Moliere]

Good to know I have job security all the way to retirement age.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Lol. Nuclear fusion is always 15 years away. So this checks out.

[Bo Diddley]

Lol. Nuclear fusion is always 15 years away. So this checks out.

[All-American]

Lol. Nuclear fusion is always 15 years away. So this checks out.

That’s funny. I distinctly remember fusion always being THIRTY years away, not 15.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/tec...-30-years-away

[Uncle Ted]

No wonder only the energy sector stocks are doing well these days...

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Does anyone have a good recipes to make your own bio-diesel?

[wuapinmon]

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[Green Monstah]

No wonder only the energy sector stocks are doing well these days...

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Does anyone have a good recipes to make your own bio-diesel?

This is such a poor idea. We're on the cusp of WWIII, and Biden is willing to sacrifice the SOR in order to improve the party's chances in the midterms.

[Moliere]

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Yea!! Now they are only paying $37 per mmbtu compared to the US where we pay around $5.

They are going to need every btu they out into storage and then some. Hopefully it’s a warm winter.

[Moliere]

This is such a poor idea. We're on the cusp of WWIII, and Biden is willing to sacrifice the SOR in order to improve the party's chances in the midterms.

Did I previously mention the ludicrously of the Biden energy policy? Oh yeah, I did.

[All-American]

A company called Helion Energy claims to be on pace to demonstrate net electricity from fusion by 2024.

https://www.helionenergy.com

They’ve raised over $2 billion in the fundraising effort, which means this will either work or be one of the most expensive boondoggles in history.

A few things about this company’s approach make it different. Rather than a true tokamak design like most fusion startups are using, Helion uses a pulsed fusion device. One advantage of this setup is that it doesn’t just generate heat, which must then be converted to energy (as through steam)—it directly generates electricity through the expansion of the plasma field. Another is that Helion purportedly has a patent for a closed-loop fuel cycle, where the fuel for fusion is a byproduct of the process.

https://youtu.be/HlNfP3iywvI

best of all, with the projected 2024 net electricity projection, we won’t have to wait 15 years to see if they will make good on their word, or if fusion remains 15 years away.