President Joe Biden

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Burying trash and producing new stuff only works so long as there's new stuff to gather and landfills to use. These are both limited resources. As a band aide, short term solution, batteries as they now exist might work. Radical improvements in battery technology in terms of durability and efficiency may occur - so perhaps solar + battery is the answer down the road. Meanwhile, modern nuclear fission, if not ready to go right now, seems to be, at least on the cusp.

Fission is always “just around the corner” though.

If we’d struggle to store solar power, how could we store fission power? The capacitors would have to be vast!

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Fission is always “just around the corner” though.

If we’d struggle to store solar power, how could we store fission power? The capacitors would have to be vast!

Fission is decay of atoms. This is the basis of extant nuclear power. As originally conceived, the technology is very dangerous.

Fusion is smashing atoms together to make new atoms with more nuclear mass. This process generates far more energy than fission. Fusion is the way that the sun works. And why hydrogen bombs are so powerful.

And, that, is the chief reason why fusion, not fission, is "just around the corner." It's exceedingly hard to create stable conditions on earth where fusion works - it's decades and decades away; and not, around the corner. Fusion is easy-peasy you might be inclined to think - not so. It basically required enormous pressures and temperatures - such as exist deep down beneath the surface of our sun to work.

Modern fission, by way of contrast, is not. It's either available to go right now, or maybe needs a bit more research (not clear to me).

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Fission is decay of atoms. This is the basis of extant nuclear power. As originally conceived, the technology is very dangerous.

Fusion is smashing atoms together to make new atoms with more nuclear mass. This process generates far more energy than fission. Fusion is the way that the sun works. And why hydrogen bombs are so powerful.

And, that, is the chief reason why fusion, not fission, is "just around the corner." It's exceedingly hard to create stable conditions on earth where fusion works - it's decades and decades away.

Modern fission, by way of contrast, is not. It's either available to go right now, or maybe needs a bit more research (not clear to me).

Apologies, I got my fissions confused with my fusions!

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Apologies, I got my fissions confused with my fusions!

No problem :-). It's a very confusing topic. I'm a science nut and try to keep up with these things. But unless you're like me, reading up on this stuff, fission versus fusion is likely potato versus poh-tatto.

 

[west didsblue]

All of these have issues. Modern nuclear fission is the answer IMO - not to be confused with any nuclear fission plant currently online today.

Nuclear fusion remains a distant hope - it's decades or more from becoming reality - if it ever will.

Yet, in certain geographic locales, amazingly brilliant technology is at play to use pure green energy - let's say solar - to create "batteries." For example, it's possible in some locales to generate an excess of power during the day and to use this to pump water way, way uphill. During the night, or at times (cloudy) when solar isn't available, you run water downhill through a generator.

In other areas, such as Iceland, thermal power is available round the clock.

Green is (mostly) king right now. Power storage and full time availability remain to be solved. Meanwhile, modern nuclear fusion can fill the gap.

Is commercial fusion really decades away?
I suspect @andyhinch might have a better idea than most.

 

[andyhinch]

Is commercial fusion really decades away?
I suspect @andyhinch might have a better idea than most.

It’s not really my field and I’ve been retired for 7 years, my very limited understanding is we’re a long way off.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

It’s not really my field and I’ve been retired for 7 years, my very limited understanding is we’re a long way off.

I'm even more of a non-expert than you, but I agree.

I trust very much in Sabine's analysis as vetted by other posters whom I value and who changed their minds about fusion's near-term viability based on this post.

 

[Bigga]

Haha! You've not been listening...



"Doing an amazing job", is he...? *smdh*

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

It’s not really my field and I’ve been retired for 7 years, my very limited understanding is we’re a long way off.

If I understand it correctly it's a case of getting the right amount of matter into the right conditions and maintaining those conditions long enough to start a reaction. Currently (due to a number of factors, mainly due to the constraints of maintaining the plasma field) that consumes more energy to get to and maintain those conditions than it produces from any resultant reaction.

 

[johnnytapia]

Solar power is already cheaper than fossil power. The problem is that solar isn't always available.