Dreams of Fusion Power: I'm Not the Only One
By Steven Pomeroy
RealClearScience
I like thinking about the future -- perhaps it's the "Trekkie" in me. I like to believe that new, revolutionary technologies are on the horizon and that I will live to see them. I'm not merely talking about the next iteration of the iPhone. I'm talking about technologies that will take humanity to a higher plane. Technologies that won't simply help some of us live altered, more advanced lives, but those that will help all of us live healthy and happy lives.
One such technology that peaks my interest and stokes my optimism is nuclear fusion -- literally, the power of the stars. It has the potential to be the ultimate energy source; estimates show that there exists about 30 million years of fusion fuel on Earth. One gram of this fuel, a mix of two isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) and lithium (to create the tritium), produces as much electricity as ten tons of coal and creates no pollution (the byproduct is helium). We all know what a controlled fusion reaction can do; we can see the greatest example of it in our bright blue sky. The sun perpetuates all life on Earth.
We also know what an uncontrolled fusion reaction can do. The first hydrogen bomb, named "Ivy Mike," was detonated by the United States in 1952, creating a mushroom cloud over 100 miles in diameter, and a blast 6,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Needless to say, the unrivaled ability of fusion to both perpetuate and extinguish life is one of the greatest paradoxes that mankind had ever confronted.
(More here. Steven R. Pomeroy is the co-editor of WeCouldBeGreat.com, a website promoting the discussion of ideas to keep America great.)
RealClearScience
I like thinking about the future -- perhaps it's the "Trekkie" in me. I like to believe that new, revolutionary technologies are on the horizon and that I will live to see them. I'm not merely talking about the next iteration of the iPhone. I'm talking about technologies that will take humanity to a higher plane. Technologies that won't simply help some of us live altered, more advanced lives, but those that will help all of us live healthy and happy lives.
One such technology that peaks my interest and stokes my optimism is nuclear fusion -- literally, the power of the stars. It has the potential to be the ultimate energy source; estimates show that there exists about 30 million years of fusion fuel on Earth. One gram of this fuel, a mix of two isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) and lithium (to create the tritium), produces as much electricity as ten tons of coal and creates no pollution (the byproduct is helium). We all know what a controlled fusion reaction can do; we can see the greatest example of it in our bright blue sky. The sun perpetuates all life on Earth.
We also know what an uncontrolled fusion reaction can do. The first hydrogen bomb, named "Ivy Mike," was detonated by the United States in 1952, creating a mushroom cloud over 100 miles in diameter, and a blast 6,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Needless to say, the unrivaled ability of fusion to both perpetuate and extinguish life is one of the greatest paradoxes that mankind had ever confronted.
(More here. Steven R. Pomeroy is the co-editor of WeCouldBeGreat.com, a website promoting the discussion of ideas to keep America great.)
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