----- Original Message ----- From: "Damon Agretto" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 3:40 PM Subject: Fusion Power
> So I was reading the following article on the Beeb: > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3993339.stm > > It made me wonder. Fusion power is often hailed as the > "cleanest" source of potential energy being looked at > to supply future energy needs. Everyone knows it works > by fusing hydrogen into helium + energy. so the result > is a bunch of helium floating in the chamber. > Presumably this can be fused as well, but how far > would such reactors fuse to before it became > impractical? The actual mass that will be fused is in the noise...due the difference between chemical and nuclear energy. One source is that the mass ratio for the fuel is 10^7 to 1. So, to replace the 4 trillion metric tons of oil burned every year, we'd use up 40,000 metric tons of deterium and tridium, and have, roughly, the same mass of neutrons and helium as a result. The first is a number that actually matters on a world scale; the second isn't. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
