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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."
So, nuclear fusion has finally got serious backing from politicians and the R&D budget to go along with it?
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Well, you have to bear in mind that Slashdot has a tendency to filter for that kind of sensationalism.
I'm sure there are plenty of minor breakthroughs in all sorts of fields that get reported responsibly, or not at all. But nobody pays attention to those stories enough to submit them to Slashdot. And if they DO, no doubt Zonk or whoever passes over them as small beans compared to the big stories Slashdot has to tell, like "Linux text editor you've never heard of may fork, says analyst!" The only stuff that makes the grade is the stuff with nice, attention-grabbing headlines.
SO all we see on Slashdot is the sensational stuff, which leads to lots of complaints like yours.
huh... I always thought the biggest obstacle to overcome would be... you know... getting a positive energy return from the damn thing!
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I'm not a scientist but is testing Nuclear Fusion in a very populated area a good idea?
I'm not a scientist either, but I have read a little on the subject....And from what I understand, the reaction would peter out and die very quickly - very little fuel is used in comparison to a fisson reactor, and the reaction itself requires very precise control to happen at all.
Comments like yours are part of the reason there's so much nonsensical backlash against this sort of technology - "I have no idea what i'm talking about, but it must be bad just because! Nuclear bombs are evil, so this must be the same!".
Couldn't they have done this in some place a little less populated? Like North Dakota or in the area near Area 51?
I would have one of these reactors in my backyard (well, if I wasn't in an apartment right now, anyway) with no reservation whatsoever.
The euro started trading at an artifically specified U$1.18, dropped quickly to just over $0.82 in actual markets, and has climbed from that natural valuation to $1.27. That's an over 54% increase. The euro's superiority is clear, defining supremacy over the formerly supreme dollar.
You can't be "sarcastic" simultaneously about both a false euro introduction rate of $2.00, and predicting the imminent supremacy of the euro. Especially when getting the intro rate wrong isn't sarcasm.
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make install -not war
Besides, individuals will never be allowed such a powerful, compact energy source. It's inevitably too useful as a weapon. Even fertilizer sales are tracked by the FBI now. For cars, maybe we'll wind up with hydrogen -> fusion -> electricity -> hydrogen -> fuel cell -> electricity.