Nuclear Fusion closer to becoming a reality?

[Arthur Dent]

All the big warheads are fusion bombs. Fusion is what the thermonuclear in thermonuclear weapons refers to.

The idea for this laser setup comes in large part from weapons research as in thermonuclear weapons, a fission bomb creates extremely high intensity x-rays that help compress a fusion core causing a massive energy release with fusion. In this laser setup, they use laser heating to produce similar x-rays that compress an extremely tiny core, so it is a good way to study that physics without having to do now banned big explosion-based nuclear testing.

Livermore is primarily a weapons lab. Civilian uses of military technology is a goal, but the primary function of the lab is weapons.

[GeddyWrox]

Interesting. Not surprising, either, really.

[thrill]

They acknowledged the weapons application in the presentation, but of course, framed it as a good thing. No more blowing up bombs while we build our annihilators! It is what it is. Weapons research has lead to a million important break throughs for civilian life.

For those of you who don't know, all the best deadspin people started The Defector. Here's a good read about the announcement:
https://defector.com/whats-all-this-nuc ... o-explain/

Here’s what’s going on: By firing their 192 lasers at a solid-gold thimble-sized cylinder containing a diamond-encased BB-sized blob of fuel-soaked foam, researchers at NIF have for the first time in human history generated surplus energy in a laboratory fusion experiment. Because it was tinkering and not scaling-up of this experiment that triggered the breakthrough—it’s the same 192 lasers aimed at the same tiny sphere of fusion fuel—the energy amounts generated in the experiment are super duper tiny, roughly enough in surplus energy to power a 60-watt lightbulb for a week or so. Don’t get distracted just yet or discouraged by the tiny output: Though a True Physics Expert such as myself might smile mirthlessly and dismiss an overeager intern with the utmost contempt at the suggestion that this news comes as a surprise, it is still a hugely important development in humankind’s pursuit of a clean, abundant energy solution.

I am able to blog convincingly about this topic despite having missed the announcement due to watching Mary Poppins instead because the various and loosely competing fusion reactors experimenting with energy yield around the globe have for the most part progressed to fairly linear development arcs. Where decades ago fusion researchers were independently experimenting with techniques and materials and capacities for triggering nuclear fusion in a laboratory reactor, and where even just a couple years ago they were trying out different reactor shapes and isotope cocktails and were doing plasma burns for pure research, the methods have now been well-honed and the focus has shifted at several projects to a direct chase of breakeven. In magnetic confinement fusion, various projects are underway to scale existing reactor types to the point where breakeven is described as basically inevitable—when France’s International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) or the United Kingdom’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) or Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ SPARC reactor next announce a breakthrough, it will mean that they have finished building their prototype reactor, and it either is or is not achieving its one goal, which is breakeven. The intern who expects me to show the merest sign of life upon being told of a breakthrough announcement in magnetic confinement fusion will instead feel the absolute most withering chill of disgusted silence.

[pioneer98]

I read this article about how tritium is in short supply. Scientists estimate there is only 44 lbs of tritium on the entire planet and it has a 12 year half life. Most tritium is a byproduct from a certain type of nuclear fission reactor that are being phased out. That, and nuclear explosions. How do they get around this problem? We need abundance or it will be too expensive even if it works.

The article mentions some group is working on Hydrogen - Boron fusion. Those elements are far more abundant but fuse at even higher temperatures, much higher than the already astronomically high ones for the D-T reactions. So it's an even larger engineering challenge.

I'm also a bit curious if the risks are being understated. I understand there will never be a meltdown with fusion and the worst that could happen in the event of an accident is burned up equipment. But it seems like there still will likely be some radioactive stuff left over, potentially. I mean the article is talking about trying to "breed" tritium to replenish the supply by placing Lithium "blankets" in the reactor. Neutrons fly out of the reaction and chop the Lithium into tritium. Flying neutrons seem bad and feel like they'd also chop other elements up but maybe it's fine I don't know.

https://www.wired.com/story/nuclear-fus ... crisis/amp

[GeddyWrox]

Not fusion, but this could be a huge improvement over current nuclear technology.

https://www.gatesnotes.com/Wyoming-TerraPower

Today I’m in the town of Kemmerer, Wyoming, to celebrate the latest step in a project that’s been more than 15 years in the making: designing and building a next-generation nuclear power plant. I’m thrilled to be here after all this time—because I’m convinced that the facility will be a win for the local economy, America’s energy independence, and the fight against climate change.

It’s called the Natrium plant, and it was designed by TerraPower, a company I started in 2008. When it opens (potentially in 2030), it will be the most advanced nuclear facility in the world, and it will be much safer and produce far less waste than conventional reactors.

All of this matters because the world needs to make a big bet on nuclear. As I wrote in my book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, we need nuclear power if we’re going to meet the world’s growing need for energy while also eliminating carbon emissions. None of the other clean sources are as reliable, and none of the other reliable sources are as clean.

But nuclear has its problems: The plants are expensive to build, and human error can cause accidents. Plus, as we move away from fossil fuels, there’s a risk that we’ll leave behind the communities and workers who have been providing reliable energy for decades.

The Natrium facility is designed to solve these problems, and more.

I’ll start with improved safety. Keep in mind that America’s current fleet of nuclear plants has been operating safely for decades—in fact, in terms of lives lost, nuclear power is by far the safest way to produce energy. And this new facility in Kemmerer will be even better.

Like other power plant designs, it uses heat to turn water into steam, which moves a turbine, which generates electricity. And like other nuclear facilities, it generates the heat by splitting uranium atoms in a chain reaction. But that’s pretty much where the similarities stop.

A typical reactor keeps the atom-splitting nuclear reaction under control by circulating water around a uranium core. But using water as a coolant presents two challenges. First, water isn’t very good at absorbing heat—it turns to steam and stops absorbing heat at just 100 degrees C. Second, as water gets hot, its pressure goes up, which puts strain on your pipes and other equipment. If there’s an emergency—say, an earthquake cuts off all the electricity to the plant and you can’t keep pumping water—the core continues to make heat, raising the pressure and potentially causing an explosion.

But what if you could cool your reactor with something other than water? It turns out that, by comparison, liquid metals can absorb a monster amount of heat while maintaining a consistent pressure. The Natrium plant uses liquid sodium, whose boiling point is more than 8 times higher than water’s, so it can absorb all the extra heat generated in the nuclear core. Unlike water, the sodium doesn’t need to be pumped, because as it gets hot, it rises, and as it rises, it cools off. Even if the plant loses power, the sodium just keeps absorbing heat without getting to a dangerous temperature that would cause a meltdown.

Safety isn’t the only reason I’m excited about the Natrium design. It also includes an energy storage system that will allow it to control how much electricity it produces at any given time. That’s unique among nuclear reactors, and it’s essential for integrating with power grids that use variable sources like solar and wind.

[AdmiralKird]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... ear-power/

from 2014, looks like Liquid Sodium Nuclear Power has been behind schedule but it might get some commercial plants in operation around 2045.

[GeddyWrox]

This is tangentially related to fusion...

Is this legit, or probable bunk???

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Can you provide the Thread where he mentioned this? Or a blog post?

[GeddyWrox]

Can you provide the Thread where he mentioned this? Or a blog post?

Sorry, I don't know how I got at post that didn't have the full thread. Weird. Let's try this one:

[GeddyWrox]

Threadreader link:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1684 ... 53633.html