Nuclear Energy
What kinds do we know about? Nuclear Fission One big atom that breaks apart and make two smaller atoms. Energy is released. Nuclear Fusion Two atoms that fuse to make one bigger atom. A lot of energy is released!
Nuclear Fission- when an unstable element is too big, it doesn t like staying together. It fissures..or breaks into smaller atoms.
How much do we depend on nuclear power for electricity 15% worldwide 439 nuclear power reactors in operation in the world by the year 2015 a new power plant could be built every 5 days -wiki
Where is the waste stored after its used?
What s the world need?
Is it worth it? In 2008, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) predicted that nuclear power capacity could double by 2030, though that would not be enough.
Nuclear Fusion- The fusing of two light atoms to make one bigger atom
Dream as if you ll live forever, live as if you ll die today. -James Dean
We can make it, but..
What would it take to control a fusion reaction 1. The reaction will not start until 10,000,000 degrees. Until recently, the only thing that hot on this planet was an atomic bomb. 2. Every material on earth would melt at that temperature. Scientist are trying to contain the fusion reaction. And we are close..
How close? Fusion power would provide much more energy for a given weight of fuel than any technology currently in use, and the fuel itself (primarily deuterium) exists abundantly in the Earth's ocean Nuclear fusion reactions are so much more energetic than chemical combustion and seawater is easier to access and more plentiful than fossil fuels, some experts estimate that fusion could supply the world's energy needs for millions of years.15][16]
The Details fusion process using only deuterium from sea water would have fuel for 150 billion years.[9] To put this in context, 150 billion years is over ten times the currently measured age of the universe, and is close to 30 times the remaining lifespan of the sun.[10] No Waste!!
Magnetic Confinement
1987 A recent paper, published January 2009 and part of the IAEA Fusion Conference Proceedings at Geneva last October, claims that small 50 MW Tokamak style reactors are feasible.l "cite_note- 17
A Better Way On May 30, 2009, the US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, primarily a weapons lab, announced the creation of a high-energy laser system, the National Ignition Facility, which can heat hydrogen atoms to temperatures only existing in nature in the cores of stars. The new laser is expected to have the ability to produce, for the first time, more energy from controlled, inertially-confined nuclear fusion than was required to initiate the reaction.[19]
The Idea The High Power laser Energy Research facility (HiPER), is an experimental laser-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) device undergoing preliminary design for possible construction in the European Union starting around 2010.
The Dream
How good would it be? If one uses the baseline assumptions for the current HiPER design, the two lasers (driver and heater) produce about 270 kj in total, yet generate 25 to 30 MJ, a gain of about 100. ^ a b c d e f g h Dunne, 2005
How good would it be? Assuming yearly world needs of ~5x1017 J with 80 to 90 percent derived from the combustion of fossil fuels. And one barrel of oil produces energy of: 5.8 106 BTU s (6.1178632 109 J)
How good would it be? Typical fuel pellets are about the size of a pinhead and contain around 10 milligrams of fuel: in practice, only a small proportion of this fuel will undergo fusion, but if all this fuel were consumed it would release the energy equivalent to burning a barrel of oil. -Wikipedia
Oil vs Fusion World energy (per) Barrel of oil 5 x 1017 J / 6 109 J = 40 billion Volume of gas: 42 gals. X 40 billion = 1.68 trillion gallons per year Mass of Hydrogen: 10 mg x 40 billion = 4000 kg per year
Whats the Government think? Nuclear fusion research recieves 750 million (excluding ITER funding), compared with 810 million for all non-nuclear energy research combined,[12] putting research into fusion power well ahead of that of any single rivaling technology.
The Fusion Economy Fusion power would provide much more energy for a given weight of fuel than any technology currently in use,[13] and the fuel itself (primarily deuterium) exists abundantly in the Earth's ocean: about 1 in 6500 hydrogen atoms in seawater is deuterium.[14]
What does this mean? With fusion energy, the production cost will not increase much, even if large numbers of plants are built. It has been suggested that even 100 times the current energy consumption of the world is possible.[wiki]
What s the Government really think? The establishment of government is in tandem with the influence and power of corporations and banks. http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/joomla/index.php?itemid=50 Politics was irreducibly subjective and compromised, a process that went entirely against the grain of the scientific method. One could try to regard politics as a kind of science a long series of experiments in communal living, say, with all the data consistently contaminated. -Kim Stanley Robinson (Author of the Mars Trilogy)
Cheap abundant energy GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports imports) This is the basis on which most countries gauge their worth. If cheap abundant energy were introduced how would a countries wealth be affected? Production and consumption of energy resources is very important to the global economy. All economic activity requires energy resources, whether to manufacture goods, provide transportation, run computers and other machines. -Wiki
Cheap abundant energy A Resource-Based Economy is a system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude. All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival. - -http://www.thevenusproject.com/the-venus-project-introduction/aims-proposals
Cheap abundant energy and a better way of life A resource-based world economy would...involve all-out efforts to develop new, clean, and renewable sources of energy: geothermal; controlled fusion; solar; photovoltaic; wind, wave, and tidal power; and even fuel from the oceans. We would eventually be able to have energy in unlimited quantity that could propel civilization for thousands of years. A resourcebased economy must also be committed to the redesign of our cities, transportation systems, and industrial plants, allowing them to be energy efficient, clean, and conveniently serve the needs of all people. -http://www.thevenusproject.com/a-new-social-design/resource-based-economy
Example? At the beginning of World War II the US had a mere 600 or so first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short supply by turning out more than 90,000 planes a year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was No, we did not have enough money, nor did we have enough gold; but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources that enabled the US to achieve the high production and efficiency required to win the war. Unfortunately this is only considered in times of war. http://www.thevenusproject.com/a-new-social-design/resource-based-economy
Notes for questions A Resource-Based Economy is a system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude. All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival. Modern society has access to highly advanced technology and can make available food, clothing, housing and medical care; update our educational system; and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy. By supplying an efficiently designed economy, everyone can enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities of a high technological society. If the thought of eliminating money still troubles you, consider this: If a group of people with gold, diamonds and money were stranded on an island that had no resources such as food, clean air and water, their wealth would be irrelevant to their survival. It is only when resources are scarce that money can be used to control their distribution. One could not, for example, sell the air we breathe or water abundantly flowing down from a mountain stream. Although air and water are valuable, in abundance they cannot be sold. Replacing money-based nationalistic economies with a resource-based world economy. -http://www.thevenusproject.com/the-venusproject-introduction/aims-proposals
Opening slide? And all the vast articulated structure of a culture stood out in the open sun of day, accessible to anyone who wanted to join, who was willing and able to do the work; there were no secrets, there were no closed shops, and if every lab and every specialization had its politics, that s was just politics, and in the end politics could not materially affect the structure itself, the mathematical edifice of their understanding of the phenomenal world. -Kim Stanley Robinson