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Could a Helium-Resistant Material Usher In an Age of Nuclear Fusion? (sciencealert.com)
Researchers working with a team at the Los Alamos National Lab tested a new way to build material for nuclear fusion reactors, "and found that it could eliminate one of the obstacles preventing humanity from harnessing the power of fusion energy." schwit1 quotes Science Alert:
A collaboration of engineers and researchers has found a way to prevent helium, a byproduct of the fusion reaction, from weakening nuclear fusion reactors. The secret is in building the reactors using nanocomposite solids that create channels through which the helium can escape... Not only does the fusion process expose reactors to extreme pressure and temperatures, helium -- the byproduct of fusion between hydrogen atoms -- adds to the strain placed on reactors by bubbling out into the materials and eventually weakening them...
In a study published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers overview how they tested the behavior of helium in nanocomposite solids, materials made from thick metal layer stacks. They found that the helium didn't form bubbles in these nanocomposite solids like it did in traditionally used materials. Instead, it formed long, vein-like tunnels. "We were blown away by what we saw," said Demkowicz. "As you put more and more helium inside these nanocomposites, rather than destroying the material, the veins actually start to interconnect, resulting in kind of a vascular system."
The article points out that nuclear fusion generates four times the energy of nuclear fission.
In a study published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers overview how they tested the behavior of helium in nanocomposite solids, materials made from thick metal layer stacks. They found that the helium didn't form bubbles in these nanocomposite solids like it did in traditionally used materials. Instead, it formed long, vein-like tunnels. "We were blown away by what we saw," said Demkowicz. "As you put more and more helium inside these nanocomposites, rather than destroying the material, the veins actually start to interconnect, resulting in kind of a vascular system."
The article points out that nuclear fusion generates four times the energy of nuclear fission.
I’m been hearing fusion is only 20 years away for at least 30 years now. One of these days it will come true just like the year of Linux on the desktop. Wake me up when either one happens. You probably can’t because I’ll be old and dead by then.
> helium -- the byproduct of fusion between hydrogen atoms -- adds to the strain placed on reactors by
> bubbling out into the materials and eventually weakening them
The problem with fusion is that it generates relativistic neutrons that displace atoms in metals and cause them to become brittle. This not only weakens the materials but makes some critical materials like the superconducting magnets rapidly turn into scrap.
While the helium -alphas actually- also present problems, they are not the same thing at all. The damage rate from such events is orders of magnitude lower than the neutron damage. And the idea that letting them just bubble out will remove them from the fuel at a fast enough rate makes me LOL.
The idea that this somehow fixes anything is so utterly ridiculous that it simply puts the black hole that is modern fusion research into stark perspective.
You seem a little bit confused about the technology and the science behind it.
There is no difficulty in using fusion to generate more electricity than you put in. That is actually easy.
The reactors being built aren't designed to do that. They're designed to be useful to the engineers figuring out how to build all the parts to be durable and find out exactly which configurations give the best efficiency.
The reason it would not yet be cost effective isn't about net energy, it is about net money; making it last long enough to turn a profit! There are huge capital costs involved in construction.
Good summary. Nuclear power is simply uneconomical compared with the newest, and rapidly developing, renewable technologies. There is a reason that world nuclear power production (not just in the US) has been nearly level for about 30 years. The era of nuclear power plant construction has passed, and super-expensive fusion ain't bringing it back when (and if) it becomes available.
A 21st Century electrical grid looks like this: high voltage DC power lines that ship electricity across an entire continent (800 KV lines can transport electricity from one U.S. coast to the other with losses under 5%), solar and wind power deployed in excess capacity (but still cheaper than the nuclear "base load"), pumped water storage to provide additional power leveling which, again, serves the entire continent. No need for expensive batteries, but you can build them too, and the technology continues to improve there as well.
The larger the grid the better because local conditions will average out, and you can take advantage of peak solar production in one place when evening demand peaks elsewhere, and so forth.
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj