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Workable Fusion Starship Proposed
Adam Korbitz writes "A former colleague of Edward Teller — father of the hydrogen bomb — has published a new paper proposing a design for what could be the first practical fusion-powered spacecraft (PDF). As described at Centauri Dreams, the design has certain similarities to MagOrion, a 1990s-era proposal for a nuclear-powered spaceship with a magnetic sail and propelled by small-yield fission devices. The proposal's author also has links to the British Interplanetary Society's Project Daedalus, a 1970s proposal for an unmanned fusion-powered interstellar probe designed to reach 12% of the speed of light on its way to Barnard's Star."
The trailer for "Star Trek" is going to appear in the Stupor Bowl tonight, so this is part of the advance tangentially related news media that the companies use to whip up interest in the movie.
An interesting nick, I must say...
Ignore this signature. By order.
He might be logged in but posting anonymously, that means he can see the sig, which BTW is "So this is how Linux dies. With thunderous applause."
But, I wanted socialized health insurance!
Building a starship is the least of our concerns. It baffles me that we are discussing building a fusion spaceship when it seems that very little is being done to get fusion working for making our energy here on earth. Our priorities are all mixed up. While we are spending billions on wars to give money to banks so they can use it to by their yachts, we desperately need to be spending that money on fusion and clean, environmentally friendly energy sources NOW. We cant afford to wait any more on this.
It amazes me there is not a more strong and powerful call from scientists globally to rapidly expand fusion research adn development. We should be funding not one but many different technologies via government funding, having a sort of competition with different designs being tested. With several projects development different designs and with funding to new designs that can do fusion better, cheaper and smaller, such as the Polywell, we have a better chance of getting something that will work.
With our destroying our planets environments with CO2 and toxic fossil fuel related wastes and set to totally deplete the entire supply of oil in 40 years, and with a supply that simply cannot bring electricity to everyone on planet, such as those in Africa, to alleviate the poverty and suffering there, our energy crisis for producing energy for use here on earth is the greatest challenge we face. If fusion is feasible for a spaceship, why the hell are we not building fusion plants right now or at least spending billions on development of this. We need to stop dilly daddling around here, we cant afford to sit around longer and wait for markets to somehow come up with a solution. Its clear that government funds most nuclear fusion development and corporations are not doing what we need to be doing to solve our worlds problems.
If we can develop fusion, global warming is solved and we dont have to worry about it anymore. Then why are we not doing it. Why is it sometimes I get the feeling that while everyone moans about global warming, no one wants to take the initiative and actually fix the problem? There needs to be a strong call from the scientific community to expand funding for fusion development and research as well as other renewable, environmentally friendly technologies. We need to tax the oil companies as well so that we can fund these projects with the money that consumers are struggling to pay at the pump. While we have a planet in crisis it makes me FURIOUS that oil company CEOs are using money wrenched from hardworking people via their monopoly to fund their yachts when we desperately need this money to be put into fusion research. Its like these wealthy CEOs are saying to the people of the world "screw you all, Im going to spend all of the money on my yachts and let this planet go to hell". That we see so little priority on this energy crisis in government policy, in regulating oil company profits and through a democratic and science directed process regulating their research and development priorities around goals of eliminating fossil fuel dependance ASAP? We cant afford inaction and the same old same old with oil companies wanted to pollute the environment and oceans with their rigs, to spend all of their money on yachts and oil exploitation, and for fleets of wasteful fuel inefficient 20 mpg cars when we can have 80 mpg NOW. Is it because they want their to be a global warming crisis, for whatever political agenda they have?
Zippy, is that you?
The Forever War
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