Sivarias
2017-12-02, 11:19 PM
So I'm an ME student with a basic knowledge of the physics and chemistry in my field.
I read for a paper a couple years ago that the EU is looking to break ground on a fusion reactor in 2025.
My understanding of fusion is the difficulty is maintaining the enormous heat and pressure to have a stable reaction. The solution to that is a magnetic bottle a la Spider-Man 2.
The numbers part I'm curious about is how much energy is released in a fusion reaction? I know it's at least an order of magnitude larger than fission, but some numbers would be nice. I've heard crazy things, like one or two stable fusion reactors could supply enough power for the planet.
Secondary question, how would the released energy be harnessed. You can't exactly do a water turbine if we are looking at tungsten melting temperatures.
I read for a paper a couple years ago that the EU is looking to break ground on a fusion reactor in 2025.
My understanding of fusion is the difficulty is maintaining the enormous heat and pressure to have a stable reaction. The solution to that is a magnetic bottle a la Spider-Man 2.
The numbers part I'm curious about is how much energy is released in a fusion reaction? I know it's at least an order of magnitude larger than fission, but some numbers would be nice. I've heard crazy things, like one or two stable fusion reactors could supply enough power for the planet.
Secondary question, how would the released energy be harnessed. You can't exactly do a water turbine if we are looking at tungsten melting temperatures.