Can Fusion Power Save The Earth from Ourselves?
Posted on October 15, 2009
Filed Under Alternative Energy | Leave a Comment
Since the beginning of the “atomic era” in the late 1940s, everyone has known about the massive potential power of fission reactions. This is what happens when an unstable element, such as radioactive or “heavy” uranium, is brought to critical mass and begins to exhibit a chain reaction. This nuclear energy can then be used to create steam and run turbines, among other things. Unfortunately the remaining waste product is still radioactive for thousands of years and must be disposed of at great bother and expense.
Another option is the one we are familiar with every day as the solar furnace. Light and heat from the sun is the result of a massive fusion reaction that crams hydrogen together until it forms helium, releasing massive amounts of energy in the process. While it has been a dream for many years to utilize this far more powerful force of physics, to generate plenty of power and a waste product that is useful with party balloons and lighter than air craft.
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