If this works, them Terrorrist-friendly, oil-rich arab nations will go to the crapper

[Boroda]

Controlled thermonuclear synthesis is even a better miracle...

Does anyone know what happened to the last-generation "tokamak" reactors? Soviet Tokamak-15 is not a question, it was supposed to be finished by 1991-92, so it goes

But what about European torus, Japanese and American projects?

[midnight Target]

The Tokamak IIRC was one of the attempts to isolate the fusion reaction in space by using a donut shaped magnet. I don't recall if they ever actually created a reaction in a tokamak chamber New attempts (in the past few months) have shown some success in isolating the reaction by concentrating high energy beams on a central location. Stay tuned.

[Syzygyone]

What is IIRC?

[midnight Target]

If I Remember Correctly

[Syzygyone]

I forgot....

[OIO]

Nuke reactors would be better for , but not nicer.

Heck this thing basically kills like 5 birds in 1 shot:

-recycling
-fuel
-waste management
-home economy (in a few decades this thing will be miniaturized you wait and see, it will become a household appliance!).

[miko2d]

Damn, with oil becoming dirt-cheap, how are we going to recoup the invasion expences? Maybe instead of pumping oil from Iraq, we could use that country to grow Turkeys...

 miko

[Boroda]

Originally posted by midnight Target
The Tokamak IIRC was one of the attempts to isolate the fusion reaction in space by using a donut shaped magnet. I don't recall if they ever actually created a reaction in a tokamak chamber New attempts (in the past few months) have shown some success in isolating the reaction by concentrating high energy beams on a central location. Stay tuned.

Tokamak is a Russian acronym for TOroidal'naya KAmera MAgnitniye Katushki (toroidal chamber magnetic coils). It's a development of Leo Scillard's "Stellarator" reactor, where the plasma channel is stabilized by external magnetic field, not only by the field of the current running through it.

The best acheievment on the "tokamak" scheme was a 1978 PLT (Princerton Large Tor), 80 million degrees, but for an extremely short time...

As for "laser reactors" - in late-80s (when I was crazy about the thermonuclear synthesis) it was only experiments, and probably too expencive and complicated compared to toroids. Hehe, I even made an attempt to go to Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, didn't get enough points and had to go to the "Rocket College on Yauza" instead

The idea of the toroidal reactor is the really controlled reaction, while laser-beam reactors are in fact micro-hydrogen bombs

[miko2d]

Boroda: The idea of the toroidal reactor is the really controlled reaction, while laser-beam reactors are in fact micro-hydrogen bombs

 True - laser-beam reactors are in fact micro-hydrogen bombs but at least you know exactly how large an explosion you are getting every time it fires.

 With magneto-dynamic reactors you just hope that you can keep it within operating parameters...

 miko

[Preon1]

I'm excited.  This sounds pretty cool.  I wonder if it puts out a stench.

[midnight Target]

Fusion reactor (Tokamak)

The National Ignition Facility will be completed in 2003


 

One way to do this is to heat gas to tens of millions of degrees and confine it in a magnetic cage. This approach is being investigated by several countries. Success is not expected for decades, if at all.

Another approach is to crush hydrogen pellets by firing laser beams at them from all directions. To ignite fusion power, scientists have to pack the biggest punch they can in the smallest space possible.

[Sabre]

What I find interesting is to go back to the science journals of the early-mid 1950's and see all the predictions concerning fusion reactors.  Back then, they estimated they'd have fusion reactors working safely by the end of the decade!  Kind of funny, really.  

As for this waste-reprocessing technology, I think it holds great hope for the future.  I can easily imagine these springing up at waste-disposal plants, at large farms, at food-processing plants, as companies catch on to it.  One way to push companies to embrace the technology would be to provide tax incentives for re-processing their waste material into POL.  In California, there is a law that if anyone (private home owner or business) generates electicity from wind or solar power, the power companies have to buy the excess from them.  I prefer the tax incentive idea myself, as the free market generally is more effecient than government mandates at driving such fundamental changes in business.  Energy independance of the United States would radically change the geo-political landscape.  I've got to wonder: do we produce more tons of carbon-based waste products in this country than we use tons of carbon-based POL?

[Charon]

This is very interesting stuff. I had gotten a few press releases on it and pretty much dismissed it off hand as another biodiesel concept (I've actually toured a biodiesel refinery where they make diesel out of animal and vegetable  grease) which is effective but not very cost effective. Worth dusting off those releases and making a few calls

Charon

[Toad]

Sabre:

 If the process works as well as its creators claim, not only would most toxic waste problems become history, so would imported oil. Just converting all the U.S. agricultural waste into oil and gas would yield the energy equivalent of 4 billion barrels of oil annually. In 2001 the United States imported 4.2 billion barrels of oil.

Of course, it's rare that anything turns out as good as it is touted right out of the gate. I doubt this is either.

But it looks like they're saying it'd be about a wash converting ag waste when compared to currently imported oil.

[Makarov9]

Soylent Oil is Turkey!!!