Nuclear fusion power project to start in 2018: official

Mac Daddy · Jun 18, 2009, 07:14 PM

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) should be fully operational in 2026, the ITER Council said in a communique after a meeting in Japan.

The seven-nation council endorsed a "phased" completion of the multi-billion-dollar reactor, with a target date for "first plasma" by the end of 2018.

ITER is designed to produce 500 megawatts of power for extended periods, 10 times the energy needed to keep the energy-generating plasma -- a form of radioactive gas -- at extremely high temperatures.
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Source: Physorg

CDsDontBurn · Jun 18, 2009, 08:07 PM

$10 billion to construct, and this price tag is likely to double. that same money can be used to create other clean energy producing plants, like solar and wind power. however, if technology is not explored, nobody will ever know if theory can be used in practice.

i for one, am one to be happy of new technological exploration in order to better human kind as a whole.

IvanV · Jun 18, 2009, 08:52 PM

This is something that's been talked about for decades. The potential is enormous and it doesn't have the nuclear waste problem standard, fission reactors do. Two issues have been slowing down the research over the last several years:
1) environmentalists are allergic to anything with the word "nuclear: in it; it doesn't matter that it's a clean concept, they (many of them) believe that it'll somehow spell doom for us all;
2) as I've said, the idea's been around for decades, swallowed a fair share of cash, yet it's still not here, so many have been losing faith that it's ever going to be.

I'm very happy to see progress being made. It's not something that's around the corner ("Key experiments using tritium and deuterium that can validate fusion as a producer of large amounts of power would not take place until 2026.", that, I presume, is if everything goes according to plan), but it's going to be a huge milestone in our technological advancement.

And it's not as if other clean energy sources are being forgotten because of this. I've read that the Japanese are really into solar energy, with long term plans and billions of dollars being invested into making exploitation more efficient, and I'm guessing that they're not the only ones.

Jun 18, 2009, 07:14 PM	#1
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 64 System Specs	Nuclear fusion power project to start in 2018: official The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) should be fully operational in 2026, the ITER Council said in a communique after a meeting in Japan. The seven-nation council endorsed a "phased" completion of the multi-billion-dollar reactor, with a target date for "first plasma" by the end of 2018. ITER is designed to produce 500 megawatts of power for extended periods, 10 times the energy needed to keep the energy-generating plasma -- a form of radioactive gas -- at extremely high temperatures. ________________ Source: Physorg __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Jun 18, 2009, 08:07 PM	#2
CDsDontBurn 127.0.0.1 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 21,842 Rep Power: 133 System Specs	Re: Nuclear fusion power project to start in 2018: official $10 billion to construct, and this price tag is likely to double. that same money can be used to create other clean energy producing plants, like solar and wind power. however, if technology is not explored, nobody will ever know if theory can be used in practice. i for one, am one to be happy of new technological exploration in order to better human kind as a whole. __________________ CD's Corner // Her first day // A year later // RX-8 Club 3Dmark06 - 4176 // 3Dmark05 - 7459 // 3Dmark03 - 14289 // PCmark05 - 4453 // PCmark04 - 6297

Jun 18, 2009, 08:52 PM	#3
IvanV DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 3,077 Rep Power: 63 System Specs	Re: Nuclear fusion power project to start in 2018: official This is something that's been talked about for decades. The potential is enormous and it doesn't have the nuclear waste problem standard, fission reactors do. Two issues have been slowing down the research over the last several years: 1) environmentalists are allergic to anything with the word "nuclear: in it; it doesn't matter that it's a clean concept, they (many of them) believe that it'll somehow spell doom for us all; 2) as I've said, the idea's been around for decades, swallowed a fair share of cash, yet it's still not here, so many have been losing faith that it's ever going to be. I'm very happy to see progress being made. It's not something that's around the corner ("Key experiments using tritium and deuterium that can validate fusion as a producer of large amounts of power would not take place until 2026.", that, I presume, is if everything goes according to plan), but it's going to be a huge milestone in our technological advancement. And it's not as if other clean energy sources are being forgotten because of this. I've read that the Japanese are really into solar energy, with long term plans and billions of dollars being invested into making exploitation more efficient, and I'm guessing that they're not the only ones. __________________ Feed the porkers and don't touch the buttons!