:d

No, You are right. We need to work with technology that works instead of running after a fools errand.

The sun's fusion "works" because of the mass. The Neutrons are not lost because there is so much mass around to absorb them when released. And if you keep the neutrons, you keep the energy, since 80% spins off as fast neutrons.

My Nuke E professors carried a grapefruit into class. He would ask each class, "How big is a U235 fission critical mass?" He would hold up the grapefruit. The he would ask "How big is a critical mass for fusion?" He would point at the late afternoon sun...

Because the neutrons produced hold 80% of the energy. And keeping THOSE in the mass is difficult, since the neutrons have a, well, neutral charge.

What else would you do with a sex bot...:p

We actually understand why aging happens..or at least the principal of why the body slows regeneration.. I think we’ll see extended lifespans in the next 30-40 years. ...

If from a decidedly lay perspective, I'm onboard. A newer & promising reactor general arrangement
presently being researched is the stellarator, an adaptation of the 'classical' toroidal magnetic confinement device design.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/stellarators

A review of the Cool Science Story Of The Day [Continuing Thread] might be in order as I recall the mention of fusion
more than once.

So 'til then,
Cheers
JB

The problem is the debate has been settled and it does not include coal, NG, nukes, fission or fusion, just delusion.

Follow the money, folks.

We need a clean sheet approach to power generation: an honest appraisal of near and far term alternatives.

with fission you could have multiple sex bots....

Amen & we'd best not dither or dick about much longer. Until we solve or modify our present energy requirements - some form of nuclear based energy has to be seriously considered. Having said that, the pandemic & its effects are obviously job one - for us all

Is fusion sustainable? Where will all the Hydrogen (if that is the fuel of choice)come from? Hydrolysis of water works but water is a finite source.

Rest easy Flat

I cobbed this info from from the ITER website: Fusion reactors (e.g. ITER) use only a few grams of fuel at any given moment (hydrogen isotopes - deuterium & tritium) in their fusion reaction plasmas. It should be noted a fusion reaction is a few orders of magnitude more efficient than any chemical reaction.

Deuterium, a virtually inexhaustible & harmless resource can be distilled from seawater - fresh water also.

Tritium, a radioactive isotope only occurs naturally in trace quantities but can be 'bred' during a fusion reaction with lithium. Lithium is also readily extracted from seawater. This infers reserves are virtually unlimited & enough to meet our energy requirements for as long as we as a species exist here on the planet & provided we don't terminally eff things up.

The other caveat is: can we make the b**stard work.

So you're good to go Bud - but I think we both could use a hockey fix at the moment.

Cheers
JB

Just my opinion but this thread should be a sticky.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER

Here's a recent video: Dec 17, 2020

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pmx6zUJiiVg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Maybe if we link every computer on earth, there will be enough memory and computing power...

It is quite simple. When we run out of everything else. When we find that solar and wind don't provide nearly enough power. When we decide that hydrogen fusion only makes sense in stars. When we reach the end, we will finally decide that nuclear fission isn't that bad after all.

And we'll use fission until we figure out the "final" power source: direct matter to energy conversion.

An update of sorts: https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/science/lattice-confinement-fusion/

We just need some dilithium crystals and some antimatter and we can make lots of energy.

That is just as realistic as the solar and wind providing enough energy to power the world.

Still doesn't solve the real problem of sustaining the reaction

Solar can provide all the power we need. They will look like Mickey Mouse ears on the planet.

Only if we cover the sunny parts of the globe with solar panels. They have be useless in places near the arctic circle or is cloudy areas.

Again some future energy source is solar collectors in space, and magically beamed to Earth for use as electricity.

Mickey Mouse ears!!!

They will be outside the atmosphere and rotate around the earth! They will be visible from the ground.

Think - Mickey Mouse ears!