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Biggest Obstacle of Nuclear Fusion Overcome?

Yetihehe writes "Nuclear fusion could become a more viable energy solution with the discovery of way to prevent super-hot gases from causing damage within reactors. The potential solution, tested at an experimental reactor in San Diego, US, could make the next generation of fusion reactors more efficient, saving hundreds of millions of euros a year."

31 of 444 comments (clear)

  1. I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by PrescriptionWarning · · Score: 5, Funny

    but I guess it makes me wonder if such a thing would ever be possible? Can a car run purely off of garbage? Or does the fusion process require a more specific substance to begin with, like water or carbon or something?

    1. Re:I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by Fordiman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Deuterium, usually. Heavy hydrogen.

      And, no. You can't have Mr. Fusion in your car. You have to use Budweiser in your Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell - which is fine; if a purpose for Budweiser can be found, it's better than drinking it.

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    2. Re:I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by NittanyTuring · · Score: 4, Funny

      One of the problems with Mr. Fusion is that it would produce way too much energy. One banana peel, into pure energy, would produce 1.25 billion kilowatt-hours. How many miles can you get on that? Releasing such energy instantaneously would probably spell the end of this sector of the solar system.

    3. Re:I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by espinafre · · Score: 2, Funny

      And how much energy can be extracted from a grain of rice? Would there be a Type R version of Mr. Fusion?

    4. Re:I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Can one filter the beer through one's kindeys first? Uh, wait you said Budweiser, never mind.

    5. Re:I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by greenegg77 · · Score: 3, Funny

      After all, Budweiser is just kidney-filtered Guiness...

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      --- This .sig for sale - $500 OBO.
    6. Re:I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by Heraclius · · Score: 4, Funny

      Budweiser is certainly a much less expensive fuel than gasoline, so that's a plus.

    7. Re:I just want a Mr. Fusion in my car by javamann · · Score: 5, Funny

      And tastes the same, that's a minus

  2. Wow! by gasmonso · · Score: 5, Funny

    The first post related to fusion on /. without declaring that cold fusion is only a few months away!

    http://religiousfreaks.com/
    1. Re:Wow! by Mayhem178 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Pretty close though. This one claims that "lukewarm fusion" is just around the corner.

      --

      "You will pay for your lack of vision..." - Emperor Palpatine to Ray Charles

  3. Re:hmmm.. by GundamFan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well... What do you think they burn in these things? (kidding... put away the flamethrowers junior economists)

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    I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
    Mark Twain
  4. 1:1.2784 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    saving hundreds of millions of euros a year

    You misspelled dollars.

    Oh, right. That's not how you spell 'dollar' anymore.

  5. hundres of millions of euros? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are that many foriegners being killed annually by fusion? I knew stuff was bad out there, but this is amazin

  6. It'll Be All Done... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...in 20 years.

    Trust me. The fusion folks can be counted on to be consistent.

  7. Re:hmmm.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    You expect me to read the article AND get first post without subscribing? Who do you think I am?!

  8. Re:biggest obstacle will be environmentalist. by famebait · · Score: 2, Funny

    You're right. Let's just cancel the whole project.

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    sudo ergo sum
  9. Re:summary is wrong by The_Mr_Flibble · · Score: 3, Funny

    And doc oc doesn't go crazy.

  10. Poor AMD by Rorian · · Score: 2, Funny

    And just as they started their massive energy-saving campaign, it turns out we don't need it after all.. .. At least in 20 years time.. or 50..

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    Will program for karma.
  11. Re:Vapourwear by famebait · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, "vaporwear" would mean you're shrouded in smoke. This here is not smoke but plasma, and it's not doing the shrouding, it is itself shrouded in a magnetic field ("fluxwear", if you will), which following this discovery can be made more hardwearing than before, which will in turn protect from damage the hardware, which encloses the whole system and as such might be referred to as "hardwear" for the contents. It is important to be wary of the difference lest the reader grow weary. It's not really all that hard.

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    sudo ergo sum
  12. Didn't Dr. Octopus figure this one out already? by Benjamin+Shniper · · Score: 4, Funny

    Using AI -controlled extra metal arms seems like a much cooler way to fix this problem of controlling the reaction to prevent outbursts. Plus you can beat up superheroes.

    -Ben

  13. Re:Err... by Jesus_666 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It gets even better! Not only can we save countless Europeans from death, we can also convert the saved Euros into pounds and thus save lots of pounds. Ultra-light fusion reactors are just around the corner!

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    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  14. Here's how to save trillions by WinPimp2K · · Score: 2, Funny

    From TFA

    "We were very pleased to find out that we can actually use fairly small currents in these coils"

    Yes, but we need more current.
    And we need to install the coils under the seat of every Congresscritter.
    After all, if these coils can handle the heat produced in a fusion reactor, they ought to be able to prevent the damage done by 536 hot air windbags.

    Then we will save Trillions

    --

    You either believe in rational thought or you don't
  15. Re:Solution: ditch your TV by Tx · · Score: 4, Funny

    Funny, I went the other way. After a long period of wasting time having long conversations with your wife, reading books, going biking, building mame cabinets and remodelling my house, I realised that was all a huge effort to expend just to avoid watching TV. Bought a 42" plasma, never looked back. ;)

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    Oh no... it's the future.
  16. Natural Organic Save Our Animals Power by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

    I suggest calling nuclear fusion "Natural Organic Save Our Animals Power," or NOSOAP. Something tells me hippies would love to have NOSOAP.

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    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  17. Re:Err... by ultranova · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think achieving energy breakeven is just an engineering problem. Once you scale up the reactor to a certain size then it breaks even.

    Unfortunately, the big enough size is about 1.424025 × 10^29 kg. So I'd suggest finding out a more efficient solution and not depending just on economics of scale.

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    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  18. Re:And still people will complain... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    *whips out his 'Environmentally Friendly Shotgun (TM)'*

    Make sure you're using shells with non-lead pellets, or they'll complain about that, too.

  19. Re:And still people will complain... by OldManAndTheC++ · · Score: 4, Funny
    Clearly we must figure out how to compress environmentalists into super-dense pellets for use as fuel in fusion reactors.

    They should vanish in a brilliant flash of green ...

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    Soylent Green is peoplicious!
  20. Re:Garbage -Hydrogen-Energy by Cunk · · Score: 2, Funny

    What's a "hand held calculator"?

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    I am the inventor of the hilarious refrigerator alarm.
  21. Re:Semantics by RsG · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's what you get for staring at the hydrogen-1 reactor all day. Does terrible things to your eyesight :-P

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    Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
  22. Guess I was wrong... by Fujisawa+Sensei · · Score: 2, Funny

    I guess I was wrong, I thought the biggest obstacle to fusion was the Coulomb force which cause the atomic nuclei to repel each other. You know, similar to the problem they had trying to create fission by firing alpha particles at the nucleus.

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    If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.
  23. Re:you are wrong by Dolly_Llama · · Score: 2, Funny

    Amazing! Just think of the possibilities!

    Torture         --> Aggressive Professional Interrogation
    POW             --> Enemy Combatant
    Domestic Spying --> Terrorist Surveillance

    What others can YOU find kids?

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    Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -- Carl Sagan