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Nuclear fusion: Difference between revisions
→An energy option for the future?
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Most likely, energy generation in the near future will be based on a mix of many options, that will vary in accord with local economic, environmental, and social conditions. | Most likely, energy generation in the near future will be based on a mix of many options, that will vary in accord with local economic, environmental, and social conditions. | ||
In the case of fusion, there is an additional complication due to the fact that its implementation is not immediate, and that its eventual implementation is subject to the solution of a number of technical problems. The current consensus it that while the technical challenges are formidable, they can be overcome. Thus, the main discussion regarding fusion as an energy option is not about its technical feasibility, but about the timescales for implementation. While increased investment and improved focus of the current research efforts can certainly help to speed up progress, even under optimal conditions the time needed to achieve the first delivery of fusion-produced energy to the electricity grid is considerable, and it is unlikely that fusion can contribute to solving the short-term energy crisis (in the coming decades). Fusion must therefore be considered an energy option for the medium to long term. | In the case of fusion, there is an additional complication due to the fact that its implementation is not immediate, and that its eventual implementation is subject to the solution of a number of technical problems. The current consensus it that while the technical challenges are formidable, they can be overcome. Thus, the main discussion regarding fusion as an energy option is not about its technical feasibility, but about the timescales for implementation. | ||
<ref>[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2005.08.015 C. LLewellyn Smith, Fusion Engineering and Design '''74''', Issues 1-4 (2005) 3-8]</ref> | |||
While increased investment and improved focus of the current research efforts can certainly help to speed up progress, even under optimal conditions the time needed to achieve the first delivery of fusion-produced energy to the electricity grid is considerable, and it is unlikely that fusion can contribute to solving the short-term energy crisis (in the coming decades). Fusion must therefore be considered an energy option for the medium to long term. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||