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Just because deuterium is cheap doesn’t mean Fusion energy plants will be anywhere near economically competitive with conventional power sources even most renew
by ohiovr 8y ago
Just because deuterium is cheap doesn’t mean Fusion energy plants will be anywhere near economically competitive with conventional power sources even most renewables. Many of the presumed benefits such as waste control are not as rosey as most people believe.
It is clear now that plant scaling with known methods are entirely dependent on magnetic field strength. More powerful magnets will mean more hope for tokamaks.
Entirely new designs are probably not what the doctors are ordering because nothing of the sort is anything close to a surefire success in the wings.
So many concepts have come and gone. Tokamak was the closest they ever got. Look at the plant schematics. Its like building a furnace from a humongous collection of delicate swiss watches.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- pfdietz 8y agoEven with powerful magnets, the power density of a fusion reactor is limited by what the first wall can withstand, and will always suck compared to fission reactors. There's little hope a fusion reactor will be able to compete with fission, never mind the technologies that are beating fission. What high fields might do is allow use to make small, uncompetitive fusion reactors, instead of large, uncompetitive fusion reactors.
- ohiovr 8y agoCorrect and 17 tesla magnets are already hugely powerful. Its a tremendous amount of structural stress. If it quenches it can explode!