If true, and considering the source it seems credible, this is WAY bigger than even Howard Dean—a REAL GAME CHANGER in power production (pardon the cut-and-paste link):
A practical nuclear fusion generator, about the power of an average-sized coal-fired generating plant, seven by ten feet square, initial prototype in a year, commercial prototype within five years, commercial units within ten years. From Lockheed.
They started work on the alley today. Replacing the asphalt with porous brick that will allow rain to soak into the ground rather than running off. The Chicago area has a combined storm-sanitary sewer system that -- despite the Deep Tunnel Project that was at the time the second-largest civil engineering project in US history -- tend to overflow or back up into people's basements during heavy downpours. This, along with regulations encouraging people to connect their downspouts to rain barrels rather than the sewers, will help deal with that problem.
It will also, of course, reduce the amount of water the Water Reclamation District needs to treat before discharging it into Lake Michigan. It's ironic that a metro area adjacent to one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the planet needs, for entirely different reasons, to take many of the same steps you see in dry areas.
A very long and busy day at the lab today (Wednesday), but things went very smoothly--even the telephones behaved themselves. I was supposed to have an appearance in the Bay Area (a full day's trip) tomorrow, but it was cancelled, which everyone approved of.
Re small fusion reactor from Lockheed, upon reflection I suspect I may have been rather carried away; it sure would be nice, though. Thorium cycle nuclear power plants are also an interesting possibility; they can be small, and cannot be used to make material for nuclear weapons. Thorium is also rather abundant. As memory serves me that is one of the technologies China is now experimenting with that was initially developed elsewhere (in the US, for one place) and then neglected. Another is a type of uranium based reactor that was tried by Germany but had some mechanical problems: the fissile material is incorporated into carborundum nodules that are fed into the top of the reactor, continuously removed from the bottom, and recycled until they are essentially used up. The waste is low-level, and the matrix makes it impossible for the fissile material to either leach out or to be removed. If power is lost or for some other reason the reactor malfunctions, it stops without any intervention--no meltdowns. Biochar pellets handle like coal and don't have its various toxic materials (e.g. arsenic, sulphur and mercury) or a net positive carbon dioxide balance, so that could also provide load balancing for an electrical system that uses a lot of solar or wind energy. Also for non-electrified applications such as locomotives. There are lots of possibilities, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to try lots of them IMO.
Bill--I recall seeing somewhere several years ago that Chicago was repaving alleys with water-permeable asphalt to reduce runoff--more than any other city in the world, Also lots of roof gardens. All good.
If true, and considering the source it seems credible, this is WAY bigger than even Howard Dean—a REAL GAME CHANGER in power production (pardon the cut-and-paste link):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/15/lockheed-breakthrough-nuclear-fusion-energy
A practical nuclear fusion generator, about the power of an average-sized coal-fired generating plant, seven by ten feet square, initial prototype in a year, commercial prototype within five years, commercial units within ten years. From Lockheed.
And now back to work.
—Alan
Oh, here is a clickable link [Click]
Delete—Alan
Yes, that would indeed be huge. Of course, I am very aware of how many things that look promising early on don't pan out. But some do.
DeleteBill
" future reactors could use a different fuel and eliminate radioactive waste completely."
DeleteAwesome!!
They started work on the alley today. Replacing the asphalt with porous brick that will allow rain to soak into the ground rather than running off. The Chicago area has a combined storm-sanitary sewer system that -- despite the Deep Tunnel Project that was at the time the second-largest civil engineering project in US history -- tend to overflow or back up into people's basements during heavy downpours. This, along with regulations encouraging people to connect their downspouts to rain barrels rather than the sewers, will help deal with that problem.
ReplyDeleteIt will also, of course, reduce the amount of water the Water Reclamation District needs to treat before discharging it into Lake Michigan. It's ironic that a metro area adjacent to one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the planet needs, for entirely different reasons, to take many of the same steps you see in dry areas.
Bill
We are using up the Earth at an alarming rate, and need all these technologies to manage ourselves. What a difficult species we are.
DeleteLooks like we'll have to read to the bottom of each post to see which of our anonymice wrote it. :-)
ReplyDeleteA very long and busy day at the lab today (Wednesday), but things went very smoothly--even the telephones behaved themselves. I was supposed to have an appearance in the Bay Area (a full day's trip) tomorrow, but it was cancelled, which everyone approved of.
ReplyDeleteRe small fusion reactor from Lockheed, upon reflection I suspect I may have been rather carried away; it sure would be nice, though. Thorium cycle nuclear power plants are also an interesting possibility; they can be small, and cannot be used to make material for nuclear weapons. Thorium is also rather abundant. As memory serves me that is one of the technologies China is now experimenting with that was initially developed elsewhere (in the US, for one place) and then neglected. Another is a type of uranium based reactor that was tried by Germany but had some mechanical problems: the fissile material is incorporated into carborundum nodules that are fed into the top of the reactor, continuously removed from the bottom, and recycled until they are essentially used up. The waste is low-level, and the matrix makes it impossible for the fissile material to either leach out or to be removed. If power is lost or for some other reason the reactor malfunctions, it stops without any intervention--no meltdowns. Biochar pellets handle like coal and don't have its various toxic materials (e.g. arsenic, sulphur and mercury) or a net positive carbon dioxide balance, so that could also provide load balancing for an electrical system that uses a lot of solar or wind energy. Also for non-electrified applications such as locomotives. There are lots of possibilities, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to try lots of them IMO.
Bill--I recall seeing somewhere several years ago that Chicago was repaving alleys with water-permeable asphalt to reduce runoff--more than any other city in the world, Also lots of roof gardens. All good.
--Alan