{"id":9036,"date":"2014-10-15T12:16:54","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T16:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9036"},"modified":"2014-10-15T12:16:54","modified_gmt":"2014-10-15T16:16:54","slug":"sci-tech-updates-on-five-fusion-power-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9036","title":{"rendered":"Sci-Tech: Updates on five fusion power projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I’m quite optimistic about progress with LENR energy production<\/a>, it’s great to see progress being made on more conventional fusion approaches as well. There has been a flurry of reports recently on different approaches to fusion that are far simpler\u00a0and lower in cost than the ITER Tokamak-based system<\/a> that is soaking up most all government fusion funding globally. At best ITER won’t reach break-even for decades and is unlikely ever to lead to a practical\u00a0power generation\u00a0system.<\/p>\n

Here are updates and links on five fusion power projects:<\/p>\n

===<\/p>\n

Univ. Washington Dynomak<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Derived from the spheromak<\/a> concept, a group at the\u00a0University of Washington has<\/p>\n

designed a concept for a fusion reactor that, when scaled up to the size of a large electrical power plant, would rival costs for a new coal-fired plant with similar electrical output.<\/em><\/p>\n

The team published its reactor design and cost-analysis findings<\/a> last spring and will present results Oct. 17 at the International Atomic Energy Agency\u2019s Fusion Energy Conference<\/a> in St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, this design has the greatest potential of producing economical fusion power of any current concept,\u201d said Thomas Jarboe<\/a>, a UW professor of aeronautics and astronautics and an adjunct professor in physics.<\/em><\/p>\n

The UW\u2019s reactor, called the dynomak, started as a class project taught by Jarboe two years ago. After the class ended, Jarboe and doctoral student Derek Sutherland<\/a> \u2013 who previously worked on a reactor design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology \u2013 continued to develop and refine the concept.<\/em><\/p>\n

The design builds on existing technology and creates a magnetic field within a closed space to hold plasma in place long enough for fusion to occur, allowing the hot plasma to react and burn. The reactor itself would be largely self-sustaining, meaning it would continuously heat the plasma to maintain thermonuclear conditions. Heat generated from the reactor would heat up a coolant that is used to spin a turbine and generate electricity, similar to how a typical power reactor works.<\/em><\/p>\n

More info:<\/p>\n