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Archive:000/Nuclear fusion: Difference between revisions
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Takes more [[energy]] than it produces. [[EROI]] is still below 1. | Takes more [[energy]] than it produces. [[EROI]] is still below 1. | ||
Every once and awhile, there are "major breakthroughs" in nuclear fusion (the last being in December 2022), and misleading news articles are quick to make it look as though scientists have finally achieved a "net energy gain". However, it's only a net gain relative to ''some'' of the energy inputs, not the whole system in total. In other | Every once and awhile, there are "major breakthroughs" in nuclear fusion (the last being in December 2022), and misleading news articles are quick to make it look as though scientists have finally achieved a "net energy gain". However, it's only a net gain relative to ''some'' of the energy inputs, not the whole system in total. In other words, fusion is not a viable power source yet. We don't know how long it will take to be. Since [[climate change]] is already near a [[tipping point]], we need to explore other solutions besides fusion only. | ||
==Scarcity of fuels== | ==Scarcity of fuels== | ||
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There are no viable reactors yet, but of the prototypes so far, some rely on tritium, an extremely rare form of hydrogen. Supply would be an issue. | There are no viable reactors yet, but of the prototypes so far, some rely on tritium, an extremely rare form of hydrogen. Supply would be an issue. | ||
Other possible fuels include deuterium, lithium or boron, which are comparatively less rare. In any case, only small amounts of the fuel | Other possible fuels include deuterium, lithium or boron, which are comparatively less rare. In any case, only small amounts of the fuel would be needed to produce large amounts of energy.{{qn}} | ||
Ideally, fusion reactors could rely on ordinary hydrogen, which would be abundant enough to last hundreds of millions of years.{{qn}} <!-- TODO: add calculation --> | Ideally, fusion reactors could rely on ordinary hydrogen, which would be abundant enough to last hundreds of millions of years.{{qn}} <!-- TODO: add calculation --> | ||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Nuclear fission]] | * [[Nuclear fission]] (not fusion) | ||
==External links== | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23W0t5-LlV0 Nuclear Fusion: Who'll Be First To Make It Work? - YouTube (Sabine Hossenfelder)] | |||
[[Category:Energy sources]] | [[Category:Energy sources]] | ||