Yet Another Method Of Achieving Nuclear Fusion

deglr6328 writes "Recent research has seen the use of the pyroelectric effect, the compression of bubbles using ultrasound and gas jet irradiation for producing nuclear fusion on small tabletop-scales. Yet another method can now be added to the list which uses ultraintense laser irradiation striking a borated plastic target to heat a plasma to billion kelvin temperatures and achieves aneutronic (clean) proton-boron fusion. (The PRL paper can be read online.) Though, like the other recently discovered exotic methods of attaining fusion, it does not look like a method which can be scaled up to ignition or even anywhere near break even, it still may have important use in the laboratory for the examination of such incredibly high temperature plasmas."

Comments

Re:Why bother with fusion?

[AKAImBatman]

With the rapid increases in solar and wind and geothermal and hot fractured rock and wave/water energy anyone searching for fusion as a way to provide power is just searching for a solution without a problem.

Really? Have you done the equations for how powerful those methods are? Geothermal is probably the most promising, but the others simply don't generate that much juice. For example, the most powerful windmill in existence can climb to about 10 megawatts. In comparison, we've got quite a few nuclear plants up in the Gigawatt range.

Basically, none of these "alternate energy technologies" has sufficient power density to be a replacement for existing powerplant technologies. I realize that many people are wowed by the impressive size of some of the solar and wind farms, but it's very important to put them into perspective. As power density goes, they suck in comparison to a real powerplant. As power production goes, they simply don't have enough power generation area to produce an output similar to that of existing plants.

Re:Fusion sounds nice, but...

[deglr6328]

"Let us assume for the sake of argument, that we have implemented a form of nuclear energy production that leaves something relatively harmless behind, such as helium. When this process is put into practice the world over, the effect on our environment could be Very Bad"

Uhhhhhh......why? I really think the new agey "everything humans do besides sitting in a ditch poking berries up thier noses is UNNATURAL AND THEREFORE EEEEEVILL AND BAAAAAD" nonsense is really dangerous magical thinking. We can't go back to the stone age just to make sure every last chipmunk lives a happy healthy full life and its just ludicrous to think so. Just because something is not cuddlyfuzzycute doesn't mean that it MUST somehow harm the planet. Helium is not a greenhouse gas, it is not an ozone depleting gas and it is TOTALLY inert. There is a reason its called a noble gas. I think we CAN manage Earth's resources wisely and we CAN produce the vast energies that will be required for the next stage of human civilization on Earth and we CAN do it without destroying the planet if we just use our heads and rigorously apply the scientific method.