The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Big Frank on December 21, 2022, 04:36:38 PM
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Unlimited free energy could be reality some day and not just science fiction. Last Tuesday Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL*) announced they achieved nuclear fusion on December 5th, and for the first time in history, they got more energy out of the reaction than it took to start it. They didn't just break even which would have been a first, they got 50% more energy out of the system than they put into it. That's like running a generator off a battery and it makes more electricity than it uses, except it's really happening.
*AKA Lasers, Lasers, 'N' Lasers.
https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-achieves-fusion-ignition
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Well it’s not FREE and there’s lots of kinks to be worked out before it’s usable.
It’s a big advancement for sure. Now rather than just create heat, then steam, then mechanical turbine, lastly a generator, the next true wonder would be to convert nuclear energy directly into electricity.
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192 lasers put in 2.05 megajoules of energy and got back 3 megajoules. That's a great accomplishment.
However, being the spoil sport I am, the 2.05 megajoules was the laser energy that was imparted to the hydrogen. It took 300 megajoules of energy into the laser to output the 2.05 megajoules of laser energy.
It's the right direction and I like the science. I believe big science projects like this are good things for government to do. But...it took 100 times more energy to create the event than it got back. It got the fusion energy back...and the science that goes with that will help. There's a hardware issue to solve as well....like more efficient lasers. But, what is learned could lead us to a new and more productive method of fusion....or not.
Just remember, we learn science even when the experiment fails.
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Well, no matter how you look at it, it was a historic event. And if they continue to make progress, eventually they'll have fusion reactors replace all other means of generating electricity. Realistically though, I think it's more likely to be closer to the end of the century than it is the next few years. And the days of having a Mr. Fusion powering your DeLorean on garbage are about as likely as me ever getting that one package from FedEx.