Posted on Dec 4, 2023
Companies say they're closing in on nuclear fusion as an energy source. Will it work?
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https://www.npr.org/2023/12/04/ [login to see] /companies-say-theyre-closing-in-on-nuclear-fusion-as-an-energy-source-will-it-wo
In a gleaming warehouse complex north of Seattle, David Kirtley is building what he hopes will be the future of power generation.
Standing in front of a set of aluminum coils that look like an advanced engine for some yet-to-be-built starship, Kirtley makes the case for his project that he's made to venture capital firms and wealthy private investors:
Fusion power could change the world. If it worked, it would grant humanity eye-watering quantities of electricity without producing any greenhouse gas emissions. The warming of the planet would slow, environmental pollution would drop, and energy would be cheaper than ever.
"We can generate electricity, theoretically, at much lower costs than we currently generate it now," he says. "And do it without fossil fuels."
In a gleaming warehouse complex north of Seattle, David Kirtley is building what he hopes will be the future of power generation.
Standing in front of a set of aluminum coils that look like an advanced engine for some yet-to-be-built starship, Kirtley makes the case for his project that he's made to venture capital firms and wealthy private investors:
Fusion power could change the world. If it worked, it would grant humanity eye-watering quantities of electricity without producing any greenhouse gas emissions. The warming of the planet would slow, environmental pollution would drop, and energy would be cheaper than ever.
"We can generate electricity, theoretically, at much lower costs than we currently generate it now," he says. "And do it without fossil fuels."
Companies say they're closing in on nuclear fusion as an energy source. Will it work?
Posted from npr.org
Seattle
Energy
Science
Nuclear
Posted 1 y ago
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Sounds good, sort of, theoretically only. I remain dubious. There is no convincing explanation about why both ways of containment are considered safe. Are they failsafe and foolproof?
The fact is that the amount of energy input is barely under the amount of energy output, once only as far as we know. That is a problem. Is the miniscule excess of energy enough to power the process? And regardless of how they the process is described, it is a contained thermonuclear process (correct me if I'm wrong). Who needs a miniature sun nearby when the grid dysfunctions and the containment stops working?
As they say "Fusion is the energy of the future — and it always will be."
The fact is that the amount of energy input is barely under the amount of energy output, once only as far as we know. That is a problem. Is the miniscule excess of energy enough to power the process? And regardless of how they the process is described, it is a contained thermonuclear process (correct me if I'm wrong). Who needs a miniature sun nearby when the grid dysfunctions and the containment stops working?
As they say "Fusion is the energy of the future — and it always will be."
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