The potential for nuclear fusion is pretty cool, and would solve a lot of energy problems if they can make it work. It’s purely in entry level research mode, but, of course
Scientists hail nuclear fusion breakthrough but caution that climate change remains a crisis
The U.S. Department of Energy is set to announce Tuesday that researchers have produced a nuclear fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain, an important breakthrough in the search for a clean, affordable and potentially unlimited source of energy.
According to the Financial Times, which first reported the news on Sunday, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a federal research facility in Livermore, Calif., achieved net energy gain in an experiment during the last two weeks. The lab uses a process called inertial confinement fusion, in which a pellet of hydrogen plasma is bombarded by the world’s biggest laser. The process is highly energy-intensive, but in recent experiments it produced 120% as much energy as it consumed.
Scientists expressed excitement about the development, which several countries have pursued since the 1950s and have invested billions of dollars researching.
But, this is hyper-Warmist Ben Adler writing, and no matter the subject, the Cult of Climastrology must interject itself
The theoretical benefits of fusion reactions are enormous, as they create no conventional air pollution or planet-warming carbon dioxide. And unlike traditional nuclear reactors, which split atoms through a much less powerful process known as fission, fusion does not create long-lasting radioactive waste.
“The importance of this news cannot be overstated,” Leah Stokes, an environmental policy expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara, wrote on Twitter.
Yet applying the technology at commercial scale will be more difficult than performing a laboratory experiment, experts say.
“While we don’t have details yet, this could be an important step because fusion has potential as low-carbon generation with much less radioactive pollution than from conventional nuclear energy,” Matthew McKinzie, a nuclear physicist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Yahoo News in an email. “But we shouldn’t kid ourselves: Fusion as a source of electricity is a really, really hard problem, and it’s not yet clear how much of a breakthrough this is. One thing I am certain of is that we have to apply all the ready technology that we have today to the climate problem. We cannot wait decades for a source of power that isn’t yet proven to work.”
All your science revolves around climate apocalypse
On Monday, some scientists voiced skepticism about the announcement, suggesting that it may be overhyped by a credulous media. Peter Gleick, the climatologist who founded the Pacific Institute, noted that the cost of fusion is currently dramatically higher than clean alternatives such as wind and solar.
Sigh. Of course, if fusion does become feasible, the Warmists will probably work hard to block it, for Reasons, just like with regular nuclear energy. Oh, and how extreme-enviros look to stop solar, wind, geothermal, and dams.
Read: Scientists Super Enthused Over Nuclear Fusion, Drag Climate Cult Beliefs Into Concern »
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