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New design could finally help to bring fusion power closer to reality

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Re: New design could finally help to bring fusion power closer to reality

#51
Assuming this is the breakthrough the MIT press department makes it out to be, remaining engineering and material sciences questions can be solved and a commercially viable fusion reactor can indeed be constructed in the not too distant future, do we actually want one?

Sure, this is fantastic news in a tech-geek, star-trek sense, but here in this reality, can we actually deploy such a thing?

With the global climate in a delicate balance and energy released by fusing atomic cores or splitting them or even any process yielding energy not directly or indirectly gained recently from the sun is bound to increase the average temperature. A single reactor might not make a relevant or even measurable difference, but if a significant share of society's hunger for energy is to be satisfied this way, then it will, won't it (and if we're not sure, can we risk it)? So if this accelerates global warming, potentially even leading to a runaway greenhouse process (reducing earth albedo by shrinking the polar caps, releasing methane from the former perma-frost grounds in the Siberian tundra, etc.), then I hope they find us earth 2.0 and a way how to get there in a hurry.

Re: New design could finally help to bring fusion power closer to reality

#52

Assuming this is the breakthrough the MIT press department makes it out to be, remaining engineering and material sciences questions can be solved and a commercially viable fusion reactor can indeed be constructed in the not too distant future, do we actually want one? Sure, this is fantastic news in a tech-geek, star-trek sense, but here in this reality, can we actually deploy such a thing? With the global climate i…

The heat produced by humans is trivial compared to the heat produced by sunlight hitting the earth. That's why sources of energy that don't trap sunlight are desirable.
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