Deuterium is readily found in seawater and can be easily isolated and extracted with today’s technology.
Speaking of fuel for fusion reaction, as noted above deuterium and tritium are the two ingredients for fusion. the electrification of automobiles, pursued by industrial giants such as Tesla.
Indeed, the only way carbon dioxide is involved are the transport vehicles bring the fuel to the plant! This has ensued a battle on a related but altogether separate front i.e. The plant would even supply its own power, leaving very few places where CO2 emissions could be of concern. The most promising avenue of fusion is the use of hydrogen isotopes called deuterium and tritium (D-T) to fuse into lithium and helium, a very simple reaction that involves no carbon dioxide. Fusion power advantagesįirstly, fusion power barely releases any CO2, in fact, there is no direct release of carbon dioxide whatsoever (Whyte, 2016). On the right is the Fusion reaction of greatest interest: D-T. However, there is no guarantee that our containments would not be disrupted over the next few millennia, meaning potential exposure to the environment. However, it too has problems, including limited fuel and the production of radioactive waste that takes thousands of years to ‘cool down.’ Currently, our solution is to simply bury them deep into the earth or ocean. Instead of fusing lighter atoms together, it focuses on splitting them apart and is responsible for about 20% of all the electricity in the United States. The other half of nuclear energy - the well-established nuclear fission - has proven itself to be a commercially viable alternative to fossil fuels. Greenhouse emission continue to grow, contributing to climate change on Earth. Thus, scientists and engineers are still thinking of practical ways to store energy during these ‘off’ times. lack of wind for windmills or overcast sky and night darkness for solar panels. Both forms of energy fall victim to inconsistency in non-favorable, conditions e.g. Furthermore, solar panels are incredibly expensive and very inefficient. For example, wind farms can disrupt the ecosystem around, most notably by messing with bird migration patterns (Metcalfe, 2018). renewable energyĮven renewable energy, which despite making great strides in combating the effects of fossil fuels, have drawbacks. In this figure we can see the general upward trend of CO2 emissions by country. According to an environmental expert in Canada, “Electricity generation produces a large share of Canadian nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide emissions, which contribute to smog and acid rain and the formation of fine particulate matter” (Environment Canada, 2004). As mentioned above, the drawbacks of fossil fuels are now very well known to the public.
This is the energy that drives the sun and an idea first conceived by Arthur Eddington in the early 20th century (Eddington, 1920). The inside of a fusion reactor glow on the right is plasma from atoms combining.įusion is the physical process by which atoms release energy when they are forced together into bigger atoms. While yet to be commercialized, it is clear that fusion has the potential to be a great alternative even to renewable energy sources due to its lack of harmful emissions and of radioactive waste, its abundant fuel stores and consistency (Whyte, 2016). What if I were to tell you that there is a way of solving the problems of fuel supply, waste and climate change all in one? What I speak of is no fairy tale but actual science this is the exciting field of fusion power. Moreover, such energy reserves like oil and gas are actually relatively limited in supply and will one day, without a doubt, run dry (Hodgson, 2008). Scientists are all but certain that this is the reason why clear signs of climate change are being observed every day. We are able to meet our needs but at the cost of polluting the environment with waste and releasing several billion tons of carbon dioxide into Earth’s atmosphere (Levin, 2018). Humanity hasn’t really done a great job when it comes to energy production.
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