2022-12-12
Fusion Net Energy Gain Is A Civilization Milestone
For decades, the governments of the worlds have invested billions of dollars in developing fission energy, the same type of energy that powers the sun of our solar system. Scientists have long been able to demonstrate man-made fusion power, but the amount of energy necessary to obtain a fusion reaction was always greater than what could be harnessed. This is no longer the case as scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have, for the first time, demonstrated a fusion reaction with a net energy gain.
The technology is still not ready for commercial use, and according to the laboratory, it may not be ready for decades. However, the discovery is nevertheless an important milestone in human civilization.
Fusion power produces no carbon footprint, no nuclear or other hazardous waste, and the quantity of electricity produced is so vast that it would ensure a cheap source of electricity in underdeveloped countries and California; where the electric grid is severely limited by cost and the limited intelligence of their politicians.
This technology sounds too good to be true, but for once, it isn't. Much like solar energy, we knew the power of the sun could be harnessed for electricity, but enormous investments needed to be made in the technology to make it viable. We're finally getting there with fusion.
What excites the KTracy.com staff the most about fusion power is the potential to take the technology into space. Although we're not sure if it can be used as a propulsion technology for future spacecraft, it absolutely can be used to power colonies on the lunar surface, Mars, and the moons of our solar system's gas giants where life may be waiting under water below the immense sheets of ice.
If we could just end our dependence on plastics and other crude oil derived products, fusion power could finally end the debates on the environmental impact of fossil fuels, global warming, and more. This really is a transformative technological breakthrough, and with a proof of concept, private industry may finally be more eager to jump in and begin speeding up the development of fusion power.
