Nuclear Fusion Is Already Facing a Fuel Crisis

wired.com

17 points·saikan··7 comments

Fusion hype is like fission hype in the 1950s. "Clean" compared to fossil fuel. " so cheap you wont need to meter it".

That would be a pretty favorable comparison for fusion. Fission didn't end up powering the world, but I think it could have, if it was managed correctly and didn't become a boogey-man of the green movement.

Fusion will never be used for large scale domestic power generation. There is really no way to make it cheaper then advanced fission.

Meta-materials? Nano-bot assembly? Astroid mining?

I don't see why it can't be cheap and small eventually.

Those things would also lower prices of fission reactors.

Fusion could have applications, maybe anutronic fusion could change the paradigm if it was small enough.

I will agree with that. Safety wise though, I think there is more potential for Fusion to adapted widely with no fear from the public.

What is that worth? 50%? 100% premium over fission which not even the environmentalists can get behind???

The problem with that is that it can be argued that fusion is less safe as well.

With really advanced fission its really hard to see any damage outside the containment boundary.

Fusion still involves gases, even if the excess radioactivity is far lower.

In general to adopt a technology that is 100x more difficult and likely 10-100x more expensive just to get around an absurd irrational fear of nuclear power makes no sense.

And fear is not primary what holds nuclear back. Price is. Arguable fear makes sure no reforms can take place that can lower price. But that link is not direct, more of a long term cultural effect.

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