I would highly recommend taking the change out of your pockets, putting on your peril-sensitive sunglasses, and carefully wrapping a towel around your head before turning the Stellarator on.
Excellent write up, thanks. We're living in a Brave New World and technology, since the Industrial Revolution, has been going steadily from the large macroscopic (steam engines and immense machines) to the microscopic (splitting the atom, discovery of DNA, etc.), but with ever "more bang for the buck" as technology progresses.
My home and all local businesses here are powered by TVA through its system of hydroelectric dams, coal fired plants, and at least one nuclear reactor... I'm not aware of any others in the TVA system, but I might be wrong.
There has been talk recently (if one can believe the local "news"...of which I am skeptical) about a new reactor being built for TVA. I've always thought that nuclear is the way to go, although we too have our share of environmental wackos around here who would have us powered solely by rainbow emissions and unicorn farts.
No basis for the catchy headline "Russia Rings the Alarm." Stellarators date from 1950. Russia was into the research at the same time (does the name "tokamak" ring a bell?).
This is great PR material, but I've seen diagrams of proposed commercial fusion reactors since before 1960. We are still waiting. The artwork looks less credible than the "arc reactor" in the first Iron Man movie.
Makes me wonder is China's current bottleneck on rare earth exports may be linked. They control about 90% of the global market in rare earths - critical for magnets. Something many of us have been warning about for years. They are also in the fusion race and want to dominate. It will take several years for us to scale up mining and processing to meet our needs. Right now, China has us and the rest of the world over a barrel. In some of those rare earth trade deals China is demanding technology transfers. I have no doubt that fusion energy is on the list.
Been a China watcher for years. Trump tried to cut us loose from the grips of the CCP during his first term. Unfortunately, he was pretty much on his own because very few saw the threat and the CCP propaganda machine had most everyone brainwashed. Covid lockdowns was the wakeup call when they were hit right in the pocketbook with supply chains collapsing. I think with regards to most business, we have managed to pull away enough to be okay - except in the area of rare earths. That one has been much slower turning around because there just has not been the incentive to reopen old mines or start new ones. In addition, we have had to develop processing technologies for those rare earths - one area that China definitely had one up on us. (Most of their so called tech achievements are just propaganda and all show. We saw that on full display recently when the Pakistani military armed with Chinese weapons had their butts handed to them by India. Quite impressive. India dominated all aspects of the battlefield.)
There has been no incentive on our end to develop rare earth mineral processing technologies - but they are on the fast track now. However, as I already stated, it is going to take time for us to manufacture these rare earths at scale in quantities needed for industry and defense. We do have some stockpiles, but how much longer they will last, I do not know. Germany is currently in crisis mode. They are talking about shutting down automotive assembly lines due to the shortages. Industry's need for rare earths reaches across many sectors of manufacturing. I have heard people throwing the idea around about shipping items to China to have the magnets installed in China and then shipped back out. Who knows at what cost. Our defense industry is also in a pickle due to critical shortages. The CCP is using this crisis to gain needed tech since they do not know how to innovate anything on their own - they usually have to steal it if they cannot manage to have it handed to them by trade.
I also wonder if Trump is considering placing rare earths under an emergency wartime classification to help speed up the process of making domestic mining and processing a reality. It would stream line a process that would otherwise take years. Lots going on here that is not getting attention and that most people are completely unaware of. One reason this forum exists. Have a great day fren.
Interesting. Trying to wrap my head around real world usage.
If you were to take a one million person population, how many of these would need to be built to comfortably keep up with power needs? Would it be better to create more but smaller reactors? Do they actually produce AC voltage, or do they heat water to produce steam?
Do they need an outside power source to make them work? Do they create perpetual energy?
Awesome. I had never heard of this before this morning. I will keep an eye open for new info.
Yeah, the wind farms need to have the plug pulled on them. If they can fly on their own then so be it, but no more subsidizing that boondoggle. Same for solar.
You need deuterium and tritium for the fuel. Deuterium is obtained from heavy water, about 136 ppm concentration in normal water. Tritium must be "bred" from Lithium-6 in nuclear fission reactors.
I would highly recommend taking the change out of your pockets, putting on your peril-sensitive sunglasses, and carefully wrapping a towel around your head before turning the Stellarator on.
-- Chief Inspector LoneWulf, formerly of Earth
LoL
Excellent write up, thanks. We're living in a Brave New World and technology, since the Industrial Revolution, has been going steadily from the large macroscopic (steam engines and immense machines) to the microscopic (splitting the atom, discovery of DNA, etc.), but with ever "more bang for the buck" as technology progresses.
My home and all local businesses here are powered by TVA through its system of hydroelectric dams, coal fired plants, and at least one nuclear reactor... I'm not aware of any others in the TVA system, but I might be wrong.
There has been talk recently (if one can believe the local "news"...of which I am skeptical) about a new reactor being built for TVA. I've always thought that nuclear is the way to go, although we too have our share of environmental wackos around here who would have us powered solely by rainbow emissions and unicorn farts.
Insert "thumbs up" emoji here+ ______________
Semper Fi.
remind me to tell you a story about an elevator ride from 🔥hell that I was in -onsite there at TVA.
I’d like to hear about the elevator ride, sil vous plait.
Tesla
Hmmm. Wonder if Trump gave Elon Uncle John's notes.
No basis for the catchy headline "Russia Rings the Alarm." Stellarators date from 1950. Russia was into the research at the same time (does the name "tokamak" ring a bell?).
This is great PR material, but I've seen diagrams of proposed commercial fusion reactors since before 1960. We are still waiting. The artwork looks less credible than the "arc reactor" in the first Iron Man movie.
Atomic Fusion: The gift that keeps on taking.
Now, that's a good one. I gave you a point.
...how much silver is used - ?
Makes me wonder is China's current bottleneck on rare earth exports may be linked. They control about 90% of the global market in rare earths - critical for magnets. Something many of us have been warning about for years. They are also in the fusion race and want to dominate. It will take several years for us to scale up mining and processing to meet our needs. Right now, China has us and the rest of the world over a barrel. In some of those rare earth trade deals China is demanding technology transfers. I have no doubt that fusion energy is on the list.
You are most welcome fren.
Been a China watcher for years. Trump tried to cut us loose from the grips of the CCP during his first term. Unfortunately, he was pretty much on his own because very few saw the threat and the CCP propaganda machine had most everyone brainwashed. Covid lockdowns was the wakeup call when they were hit right in the pocketbook with supply chains collapsing. I think with regards to most business, we have managed to pull away enough to be okay - except in the area of rare earths. That one has been much slower turning around because there just has not been the incentive to reopen old mines or start new ones. In addition, we have had to develop processing technologies for those rare earths - one area that China definitely had one up on us. (Most of their so called tech achievements are just propaganda and all show. We saw that on full display recently when the Pakistani military armed with Chinese weapons had their butts handed to them by India. Quite impressive. India dominated all aspects of the battlefield.)
There has been no incentive on our end to develop rare earth mineral processing technologies - but they are on the fast track now. However, as I already stated, it is going to take time for us to manufacture these rare earths at scale in quantities needed for industry and defense. We do have some stockpiles, but how much longer they will last, I do not know. Germany is currently in crisis mode. They are talking about shutting down automotive assembly lines due to the shortages. Industry's need for rare earths reaches across many sectors of manufacturing. I have heard people throwing the idea around about shipping items to China to have the magnets installed in China and then shipped back out. Who knows at what cost. Our defense industry is also in a pickle due to critical shortages. The CCP is using this crisis to gain needed tech since they do not know how to innovate anything on their own - they usually have to steal it if they cannot manage to have it handed to them by trade.
I also wonder if Trump is considering placing rare earths under an emergency wartime classification to help speed up the process of making domestic mining and processing a reality. It would stream line a process that would otherwise take years. Lots going on here that is not getting attention and that most people are completely unaware of. One reason this forum exists. Have a great day fren.
Interesting. Trying to wrap my head around real world usage.
If you were to take a one million person population, how many of these would need to be built to comfortably keep up with power needs? Would it be better to create more but smaller reactors? Do they actually produce AC voltage, or do they heat water to produce steam?
Do they need an outside power source to make them work? Do they create perpetual energy?
Hmm, if you can fill it up with water on one end and spit out AC voltage on the other, that would be amazing. Any good X links to follow this?
Awesome. I had never heard of this before this morning. I will keep an eye open for new info.
Yeah, the wind farms need to have the plug pulled on them. If they can fly on their own then so be it, but no more subsidizing that boondoggle. Same for solar.
You need deuterium and tritium for the fuel. Deuterium is obtained from heavy water, about 136 ppm concentration in normal water. Tritium must be "bred" from Lithium-6 in nuclear fission reactors.
FYI 20 Kelvin is -423.67 degrees Fahrenheit...
Don't stick your tongue on the flagpole! 😋🤪
Just 10 more years!
Nuclear fusion is titts.