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| Nuclear fusion plant of the future |
Are we getting close, at last, to making clean
nuclear fusion, as opposed to dirty nuclear fission currently used in power generation, a reality? The BBC reports that the UK has joined a project with a US laser lab to work on the creation of powerful lasers to compress atomic nuclei to the point fusion occurs. See
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14842720. If this breakthrough can be achieved commercially it could radically change the outlook for the world. Growing energy costs prohibit widespread creation of water desalination plants, desert irrigation, electric cars and the like, but think what would be possible if energy costs became inexpensive and plentiful for ever. Global warming is only too real, but I have faith that with strong investment and push we will make nuclear fusion a reality in the next 30 years. This could well save the planet. The main dangers on the way are the vested interests of the US petrochemical companies who will do everything possible to bias US government policy in their favour, denying vital fusion research the funding it needs.
3 comments:
I'm glad you mentioned vested interests keeping this technology at bay. In the current morally corrupt western societies, I'm sure the goal of cheap energy for the benefit of humankind will never be realised. It will be the same greedy "lets bleed the public dry" governments and corporations in control.
Ever the believer in the human sprit, I've never felt so disgusted with the society I live in and it's leaders.
73- David G8JGO
If things remain as they are, I fear the U.S. will not be able to follow-through with funding for projects like this. These days the U.S. Government is too busy pulling money out of real Science and using it to pay people to not work - in exchange for their votes of-course.
David
The big elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge is the presumed right of people to have just as many kids as they possibly can. Doesn't matter what new technology is on the horizon, it will be swamped by overpopulation in short order.
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