A giant donut-shaped machine just proved a near-limitless clean power source is possible

[Shrek]

Climate change: A giant donut-shaped machine just proved a near-limitless clean power source is possible - CNN

The 5 second limit was because the magnets can only be run that long before they get too hot.

 

[agent_x007]

So... what about all the helium those will produce ?
Does it present a threat if large amounts (if liquified = a sea worth ?) of it will be produced and realease to atmosphere ?

 

[AugeK]

Old game, they test such for more than 25 years.
Keep on claiming to get closer every now and then.

 

[Nordic]

Fusion power has made some really interesting gains recently.

 

[R-T-B]

Old game, they test such for more than 25 years.
Keep on claiming to get closer every now and then.

With that attitude, there'd be little hope of advance.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Well done to the guys in oxford even a small step is moving forward and it proves fusion is viable in the right circumstances.

 

[droopyRO]

With that attitude, there'd be little hope of advance.

What he probably meant was. Give us more money for yet another 25 years of research.

 

[R-T-B]

What he probably meant was. Give us more money for yet another 25 years of research.

I'd hope you'd be willing to pay whatever it takes. Fusion is one thing mankind needs yesterday.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Hopefully fusion research is shared so others can recreate what they did in Oxford to help in perfecting it.

 

[Nordic]

What he probably meant was. Give us more money for yet another 25 years of research.

I won't rehash what the OP's news source says but Fusion has made fascinating leaps recently. They have finally created positive power production where Fusion makes more power than went in to start it. The biggest hurdle in the way are how do we successfully contain the plasma at scale.

My personal preference would be a Manhattan project level effort to create a fusion reactor. The potential benefits are incalculable.

 

[droopyRO]

I'd hope you'd be willing to pay whatever it takes. Fusion is one thing mankind needs yesterday.

If it gets result, yes. But most of the time, science fails. So sinking money in to it, is in it's self a business model.

@Nordic
And if fusion is possible and practical. I really don't think it will see the light of day in the next 50-100 years. Maybe and if we are so desperate and all manner of resources are exhausted then our overlords will see us granted the use of such technology. But until then we are to be ruled and that means more control and less independence. And one of those means of control is energy. Imagine not having to rely on Russia or Saudi Arabia for oil and gas. And how that would affect the world stage.
/rant

 

[Kanan]

Hopefully fusion research is shared so others can recreate what they did in Oxford to help in perfecting it.

this is regularly happening in today's research. For ~everything. Sharing is very much a 21st century thing

 

[Leiesoldat]

I won't rehash what the OP's news source says but Fusion has made fascinating leaps recently. They have finally created positive power production where Fusion makes more power than went in to start it. The biggest hurdle in the way are how do we successfully contain the plasma at scale.

My personal preference would be a Manhattan project level effort to create a fusion reactor. The potential benefits are incalculable.

That is what the aim of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project is in the south of France. Even though it is located in France, the bulk of the project management is done in the US at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and there are many countries involved in the construction and research (EU, US, Japan, Korea, India, Russia, and China). The JET lab in Oxford is about 1/10 the size of what the reactor will be at ITER.

 

[Nordic]

If it gets result, yes. But most of the time, science fails. So sinking money in to it, is in it's self a business model.
And if fusion is possible and practical.

Something with as much potential benefit for Americans and the world would be limited by a business approach. I am a fairly hardcore capitalist and even I think this is better funded as a public good given the difficulty in making it profitable.

They have proven fusion is possible. They have successfully done it. The work now is making it scalable and practical. Don't take my word for it. The information is easy to find. The OP's article is a decent short summary to read.

That is what the aim of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project is in the south of France. Even though it is located in France, the bulk of the project management is done in the US at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and there are many countries involved in the construction and research (EU, US, Japan, Korea, India, Russia, and China). The JET lab in Oxford is about 1/10 the size of what the reactor will be at ITER.

I am aware of ITER. Maybe it is because history always seems grander than the present, but ITER doesn't seem to be on the scale of the Manhattan project. Or maybe I wish they were given more funding and attention. At the very least, ITER is a step in the right direction.

 

[GreiverBlade]

Donut? Ohhh ok... Layman terms for a Tokamak ... Uhhh... Almost as dumb as the "thicc, attacc and protecc" trend, although it's a big donuts Indeed. (did not check the article or the rest of the thread )

which I heard of that kind quite some years ago, glad to read that they are progressing.

 

[dragontamer5788]

The 5 second limit was because the magnets can only be run that long before they get too hot.

Reminds me of the old light-bulb from the 1800s.

The first light bulbs only lasted for mere seconds before the filament blew out. It proved that the conversion from electricity to light was possible. But material-science and material-research would have to take place to find the right chemical / metal / molecules that could last for days, months, years and become a practically useful invention.

A combination of a vacuum tube (removing as much oxygen as possible) + metals that can survive the heat ended up being the answer to the light bulb question. Without oxygen, there would be no burning. With the right metals, it'd survive even high temperatures.

I don't know what they'd need to do to make this practical. But these little steps are important in the great scheme of discoveries.

 

[OneMoar]

fucking magnets

 

[MentalAcetylide]

Climate change: A giant donut-shaped machine just proved a near-limitless clean power source is possible - CNN

The 5 second limit was because the magnets can only be run that long before they get too hot.

I'm not sure if this has anything in common, but years ago(probably like back in the early 90's), I remember hearing something about a ring of pure gold in an environment of near absolute zero could run an applied current either infinitely or without any resistance. I forget the exact details, perhaps you might know or have heard something about it?

 

[Jacky_BEL]

What about the other side of the story? Has it any merit?

Fusion reactors: Not what they’re cracked up to be

 

[looniam]

So... what about all the helium those will produce ?
Does it present a threat if large amounts (if liquified = a sea worth ?) of it will be produced and realease to atmosphere ?

great question that caused me to google . . and found from 9 years ago:

Back of the envelope calculation coming up, may well contain stupid errors:

Assuming D-T fusion, a single fusion event releases a 14.1MeV neutron and a 3.5MeV helium nucleus. Assuming you can absorb all this energy and you've got an efficient heat engine setup at around 50%, you'll get about 1.5x10-12 J per fusion, so for a 1GW output you'll need 6.67x1020 fusions per second. Say you have 1TWe (electric output) worth of fusion reactors worldwide (about half of current electricity generation), then you're producing 1000 times as much helium, or 6.67x1023 atoms per second. About a mole each second, or 4 grams. This works out to 126 tons of helium a year, or about 1000m3 per year of liquid helium. The US strategic helium reserve had a peak volume of about a billion m3 . World consumption of helium is measured in tens of millions of m3 per year so you'd be short by several orders of magnitude in the best case.

but i think all that is beyond the scope of me and most folks here (no offense) i'm sure (for no reason) as advancements happen theoretical estimations will change. however, bolded lead me to find out:

Cookie Absent

so unlike carbon, radioactive waste, nasty chemicals from current solar panel processing - helium is a commodity.

 

[Shrek]

The world is actually running short on Helium, but still we use it for party balloons.

 

[Speedyblupi]

I'm not sure if this has anything in common, but years ago(probably like back in the early 90's), I remember hearing something about a ring of pure gold in an environment of near absolute zero could run an applied current either infinitely or without any resistance. I forget the exact details, perhaps you might know or have heard something about it?

Yeah, gold is a superconductor, but only right next to absolute zero. Since then we've found a superconductor that works at room temperature (albeit only under extremely high pressure - surprisingly it's a mixture of methane and hydrogen sulfide, so it turns out that we fart room-temperature superconductors).

 

[lexluthermiester]

So... what about all the helium those will produce ?
Does it present a threat if large amounts (if liquified = a sea worth ?) of it will be produced and realease to atmosphere ?

It seems that you over-estimate how much actual Helium will be produced with a sustained reaction. Even though Helium is comprised of two protons and two neutrons, it actually takes as many as 10 split Hydrogen atoms to create one cohesive Helium atom in a star like the Sun. In a reactor like the one discussed in that article cited above, the volume of pressure is not the same or even close to what exists in a star. The energy produced is from the focused magnetic fields creating so much friction with the injected Hydrogen that the temps get high enough for fusion to take place, but such is a very chaotic reaction and Hydrogen atoms are ripped apart as reaction progresses. So in all actuality the creation of Helium in such a reactor will be minimal. Deuterium and Tritium will be produced in far great volumes than Helium.

 

[Shrek]

I thought we were burning deuterium and tritium and not hydrogen in these reactors.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Don't magnets lose their magnetism if they get hot, think i read that somewhere, but i guess they are electro which don't?