Nuclear Fusion is here (almost)

[j1979]

put simply it looks like the dude over the pond have made a giant parabolic sphere thing that can focus 192 super powerful lasers on one point to make temps as high as the core of the sun. sweet. lets hope all goes to plan.


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090530...r-e123fef.html

i really hope this is true and not just a "tomorrows world" type thing.

[Whiternoise]

Nuclear fusion has been around since the start of the universe

And has been going reasonably well in France and at the JET (Joint European Torus)

Still, here's hoping they can crack the all important efficiency (and the more out than in) issue!

[Stompy]

I was lucky enough to get to visit JET a few weeks ago, absolutely fascinating place

[Georgy291]

i think we alredy cracked it with huge efficiency...its called the Hbomb

the problem is we cant control it

[Lanky123]

Still, here's hoping they can crack the all important efficiency (and the more out than in) issue!

I believe laser fusion does have a reasonable hope of cracking that. Howerver, one of the main problems is creating a sustained reaction which would be required for a power plant. Replacing the D-T fuel capsule at the centre of the target chamber quick enough for a viable power plant is a bit tricky. I believe the current generation of lasers don't take too kindly to being switched on all day either.

Those aren't insummountable obstacles, but AFAIK tokamaks are still the front runners for a nuclear power plant and that'll probably be at least 20 years. ITER and then DEMO is the current roadmap.

[Whiternoise]

40, given DEMO's timeline. And even then that's only if it finishes on schedule with all it's boxes checked. By the end of that we should have a continual 2GW power source - and even THEN, it's not nearly powerful enough to be a competitive power source (assuming the UK usage and generation capacity doubles, it'll be 1/40th of the power needed) and will require the construction of more powerful and larger reactors. So, realistically 2050-2070 should be a good mark to aim for.

It really needs to be mentioned that the National Ignition Centre (the laser facility) was not built to produce power. It is first and foremost a research centre, designed to be useful for experiments in high energy plasma and astrophysics - simulating black hole and stellar core conditions.

Naturally the press have got wind of it and have started the usual media hype like they did with CERN.