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Nuclear fission can

by loourr 5y ago

Nuclear fission can

PhileinSophia 5y ago
I thought we didn't like that one because it solves all of the "energy problems" that we have. What will we complain and lobby about???
bell-cot 5y ago
Sadly, nuclear fission power that works at scale - both on the technology and social sides - seems to be mostly beyond the capabilities of current human societies.
- zohch 5y ago
  > Sadly, nuclear fission power that works at scale - both on the technology and social sides - seems to be mostly beyond the capabilities of current human societies. Well yes, because people who benefit from climate change do their utmost to ensure this is the case.
  - bell-cot 5y ago
    Which explains why grid-scale hydropower, solar power, wind power, etc. have all failed, new construction has all but ceased, and existing installations are being closed down...?
    - zohch 5y ago
      > Which explains why grid-scale hydropower, solar power, wind power, etc. have all failed, new construction has all but ceased, and existing installations are being closed down...? This is news to me, this is not the case where I am, but sucks for you, just goes to show that people don't want to solve the problem. Where I am hydro power works well and most of our power comes from that, but that does not change the fact that many people fight as hard as they can to stop new hydro from being constructed.
- HPsquared 5y ago
  If even fission is too hard, wouldn't fusion have just the same problem but 10x harder?
  - bell-cot 5y ago
    Fusion's problems are very different from fission's problems. Fission arguably went from the first serious attempt at a reactor (U of Chicago, Dec. 1942, successful self-sustaining reaction) to powering a large, high-performance naval vessel (USS Nautilus, Jan. 1955, in service for ~25 years) in 12 years. Its technological and social problems are very complex, but pretty well-known. Fusion experts have yet to achieve any self-sustaining reaction - in spite of numerous, well-funded attempts going back ~60 years. Roughly speaking, there seems to be no plausible prospect for fusion being a viable power source for anything outside of a lab. So its technological problems amount to "not actually possible", and its social problems amount to "very cool waste of money".
- loourr 5y ago
  No it isn't. It's worked for decades and the new forms of it are even more effective. Other countries are doing it with great success.

Nuclear fission can

by loourr 5y ago

Nuclear fission can

I thought we didn't like that one because it solves all of the "energy problems" that we have. What will we complain and lobby about???

bell-cot 5y ago

Sadly, nuclear fission power that works at scale - both on the technology and social sides - seems to be mostly beyond the capabilities of current human societies.

zohch 5y ago
> Sadly, nuclear fission power that works at scale - both on the technology and social sides - seems to be mostly beyond the capabilities of current human societies. Well yes, because people who benefit from climate change do their utmost to ensure this is the case.
- bell-cot 5y ago
  Which explains why grid-scale hydropower, solar power, wind power, etc. have all failed, new construction has all but ceased, and existing installations are being closed down...?
  - zohch 5y ago
    > Which explains why grid-scale hydropower, solar power, wind power, etc. have all failed, new construction has all but ceased, and existing installations are being closed down...? This is news to me, this is not the case where I am, but sucks for you, just goes to show that people don't want to solve the problem. Where I am hydro power works well and most of our power comes from that, but that does not change the fact that many people fight as hard as they can to stop new hydro from being constructed.
HPsquared 5y ago
If even fission is too hard, wouldn't fusion have just the same problem but 10x harder?
- bell-cot 5y ago
  Fusion's problems are very different from fission's problems. Fission arguably went from the first serious attempt at a reactor (U of Chicago, Dec. 1942, successful self-sustaining reaction) to powering a large, high-performance naval vessel (USS Nautilus, Jan. 1955, in service for ~25 years) in 12 years. Its technological and social problems are very complex, but pretty well-known. Fusion experts have yet to achieve any self-sustaining reaction - in spite of numerous, well-funded attempts going back ~60 years. Roughly speaking, there seems to be no plausible prospect for fusion being a viable power source for anything outside of a lab. So its technological problems amount to "not actually possible", and its social problems amount to "very cool waste of money".
loourr 5y ago
No it isn't. It's worked for decades and the new forms of it are even more effective. Other countries are doing it with great success.