Two stories from other sites.

Posted by Fred Scrooby on December 07, 2005, 02:01 AM | #

Anyone here know what’s happening with fusion?  Or is that just “forget-about-it-forever:  it’s never gonna happen”?  If fusion comes online it simply makes no difference what happens with oil.  When I was in high-school in the 60s they were predicting it was just around the corner.  I guess in retrospect that was sorta like the way they’re predicting “designer babies” are “just around the corner” ... (i.e., “come back in 40-odd years and they’ll still be nowhere in sight—or even on the most distant horizon ... same thing as happened with fusion—you know—“it’s just around the corner!” ...)
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Moratorium-plus-Repatriation!

Posted by Søren Renner on December 07, 2005, 12:16 PM | #

Mr. Scrooby:
  When Bob Hope died he left an archive with over one million jokes. As far as I know, the only funny one was from 1932: “I was out in the lobby just now and a lady asked me where the powder room was. I said “It’s just around the corner” and she said “Don’t give me that Hoover talk, I gotta go!” “
  I don’t think anyone does know what the future holds. Are you referring to traditional “hot” fusion with magnetic confinement? Inertial confinement? Hybrid fusion/fission breeding? Cold fusion?
  Perhaps you have heard of “zero point” or “vacuum” energy? Magnetic monopole widgetization?
  It is interesting to imagine a near-term future in which electricity is easy to generate in very large quantities. If you think the New Jerusalem would descend and the war of all against all would be called off I respectfully disagree.
    Did you read up on the epic struggle between the hedgehog and its natural dialectical enemy the fox? Which do you think I am? How about JJR? Consider only climate change and energy posts if you like.

Posted by Martin Hutchinson on December 07, 2005, 12:27 PM | #

Fusion’s irrelevant; you can’t power a car with a nuclear reactor and batteries aren’t good enough to convert them all to electricty without HUGE harassment.  Central power generation is not a problem; the problem is transportation, and if oil runs out fast it’s a BIG headache.  Fortunately I think there’s enough oil sands/shale that we can prolong the oil age for several decades, albeit with expensive (by US standards) petrol.

Posted by Fred Scrooby on December 08, 2005, 12:08 AM | #

“I don’t think anyone does know what the future holds.”  (—Søren)

Of course not.  I was simply wondering if anyone here was up to date on the latest developments in fusion and if so, could he explain what the prospects are and what’s holding it up?

“Are you referring to traditional ‘hot’ fusion with magnetic confinement? Inertial confinement? Hybrid fusion/fission breeding? Cold fusion?”

Any kind.  (I thought “cold” was debunked, leaving those two guys at Utah a little red-faced.  You mean it’s making a comeback?)

“Perhaps you have heard of ‘zero point’ or ‘vacuum’ energy? Magnetic monopole widgetization?”

No, never heard of ‘em.

“It is interesting to imagine a near-term future in which electricity is easy to generate in very large quantities. If you think the New Jerusalem would descend and the war of all against all would be called off I respectfully disagree.”

Dunno about the New Jerusalem or the war of all against all, but what about just having enough energy to go round (fueled by virtually limitless supplies of heavy water in the oceans so nobody would start getting the jitters real soon about the stuff being about to run out)—would that do?

“Did you read up on the epic struggle between the hedgehog and its natural dialectical enemy the fox?”

No, I haven’t read up on that though I’ve seen you refer to it. 

“Which do you think I am? How about JJR? Consider only climate change and energy posts if you like.”

You know, I don’t know.  Might you be the hedgehog and he the fox?  I mean, considering his success with women how could he be anything but?

“Fusion’s irrelevant; you can’t power a car with a nuclear reactor and batteries aren’t good enough to convert them all to electricty without HUGE harassment.  Central power generation is not a problem; the problem is transportation, and if oil runs out fast it’s a BIG headache.”  (—Martin Hutchinson)

Of course that’s basically right and Phil made exactly that point last time I brought fusion up some months ago:  “the problem is transportion.”  The thing is, though, that with fusion’s promise of limitless cheap energy you can make gasoline inexpensively from stuff other than crude (coal, ocean-floor methane, whatever), or you can make economically-viable liquid combustibles other than gasoline for running cars.  Also if worse came to worst and people had to drive battery-powered cars it’s nice to think that, thanks to fusion, the electricity to charge them up every 60 miles would be dirt-cheap and inexhaustible.  (Of course if we all finally had to move to Amish Country and drive around in horse-and-buggies that might not be so bad ...  hey I can think of worse ways for the world to end ... Hillary becoming president, for example ...)
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—”

that to see, and not to speak, would be the great betrayal.”—Enoch Powell
—Moratorium-plus-

!
—Balkanization is better than Brazilianization!
—The

:  the gift that keeps on giving!
—What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the usual suspects!