The W7-X Is One Step Closer to Creating Nuclear Fusion

Posted by $ Olduglycarl 8 years, 4 months ago to Technology
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I've heard of Max Planck and thought it was just a prank...well, maybe not. Seems his work has merit. Although it's just a teaser right now, they haven't actually created power quite yet.

Do you really think that Fusion is possible and is it really better than anything else that is being worked on.
I think power should be generated at each building or utility instead of all these wires all over the place.
What say you?


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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I have posted scientific articles here before. It's been know since the 50's that these things have an effect on our health and behavior.
    suspicious0bservers.org has a lot of these links and discussions.
    As far as our behavior is concerned, awareness and self control seems to be key. (this is my work to this end)
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  • Posted by IndianaGary 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The problem is that neither of the examples are really ONE disease. There is no one-size-fits-all magic bullet.
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  • Posted by IndianaGary 8 years, 4 months ago
    First, you learn how to do something. Then you send it to Japan for miniaturization. :-)
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I agree, however, we also must understand that our sun is constantly Fed Energy from space by cosmic radiation; electricity and necessary elements, comets and meteors...seems everything needed comes upon the cosmic winds.
    This understanding will take a while to sink in.
    The Electric universe model explains some of this, as best I understand it.
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  • Posted by chad 8 years, 4 months ago
    It seems with every solution there comes another problem. Fission power is actually cleaner than most current methods of power production although it does produce waste material that is difficult to contain, fusion is already possible, I think what you are referring to is what is sometimes called cold fusion whereby the process can be limited and controlled. The current problem is that once started it is a runaway process that wants to consume all material until it is spent. The question would be what problem will it cause once a method is developed and can that be contained? It may be an untamable process, but then so many other possibilities were thought to be the same until someone discovered a way.
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  • Posted by ProfChuck 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes. There are several technologies that have demonstrated controlled nuclear fusion. Break even, however, has not been reached. A promising technique is muon catalyzed hydrogen fusion. The problem is that it takes several times as much energy to create a muon than is released by the fusion reactions even when the muon can be reused over 100 times before it decays.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yeah, big oil can make campaign contributions. Cough!
    Now me dino has no problem with fossil fuel, mind you, but a proven to be safe fusion fuel engine for trains, planes and automobiles--not to mention electric power generation--should send all those of econazi control freaks looking for something else to be pesky about.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 4 months ago
    You're kidding, right?
    Max Planck rates right up there along with Einstein as one of the great minds that introduced us to quantum physics. Fusion exists in nature. It is what powers stars. Therefore, like anything else in nature, since we know it exists, it is our obligation -- make that our duty, as a species, to replicate this unendingly great power source.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I hope not, that may be harmful to human life on this planet. We are already beginning to understand how electrical charging of our atmosphere effects the human body and brain...it ain't pretty.
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  • Posted by Temlakos 8 years, 4 months ago
    We likely will not get controlled and sustainable nuclear fusion until we have exhausted every other means to get power. One means remains that no one has tried yet: building massive solar batteries in geostationary earth orbit and beaming the energy they collect, to receiving stations that would take the place of conventional power plants. I'm absolutely sure people will try that before they get onto trying to contain and sustain a micro-miniature sun.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 4 months ago
    I know it's semantic nitpicking, but human-controlled nuclear future has been possible for decades, I thought. The problem is getting the reaction going in a sustained way to get more energy out than put in.
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  • Posted by diessos 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    There were a few smaller research reactors that paved the way for this (Tokamak Fusion Reactor @ Princeton in the late 80's). It does sound promising. Maybe there will be a unexpected breakthrough.
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  • Posted by mminnick 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    HOw about a "Go Fund Me" site for this or something like it? might work if enough people supported.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    So instead of "Governments" taking our tax money for this research...why not put a call out to those across the world that have the means and the interest...in short, those that have the abundance, the desire and the will.
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  • Posted by mminnick 8 years, 4 months ago
    Let me put a fine point on some of this argument. Nuclear fusion is already here, aka the H-bomb. Controlled sustainable nuclear fusion is not. Just a very picky point but one that needs to be made. Our current nuclear fusion capability is designed to obliterate cites and harden sites across the globe. Controlled sustanalbe nuclear fusion is to open the doors to almost unlimited power for the world. This would introduce a "Golden age" for numanity if we can learn to get along with each other.
    Controlled Fusion has been the "Holy Grail" of power science for decades. It will most likely be so for several more. I do recall that several promising areas were abandoned 15 to 20 years ago because of a lack of funding. If a reliable source of research funding in sufficient amounts is made available It just might not be decades away but a relatively res years away for the first fusion reactor.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I know...it's like the [non] cure for cancer or diabetes...but to my recollection this is one of the few times someone has actually built something that seems to be working.
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  • Posted by diessos 8 years, 4 months ago
    Thirty years ago, it was 20 years away. Ten years ago it was 20 years away. It still may be 20 years away.
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  • Posted by $ CBJ 8 years, 4 months ago
    According to the article, nuclear fusion is still years away, just as it has been for years. Not really that much to cheer about. If the breakthrough is really significant, they should be able to create a "proof of concept" test in short order, not merely brag that a component is performing according to spec.
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