“Star In A Jar” Fusion Reactor Works And Promises Infinite Energy

[Megalith]

We are supposedly one step closer to an energy utopia—a fusion reactor that would generate energy in the same manner as the sun and other stars. Scientists have achieved a working stellerator, which is basically a magnetic field capable of containing plasma that burns at about 80 million degrees Celsius.

..."star in a jar" technology would essentially provide Earth with limitless clean energy, forever. And according to new reports out of Europe this week, we just took another big step toward making it happen. In a study published in the latest edition of the journal Nature Communications, researchers confirmed that Germany's Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) fusion energy device is on track and working as planned. The space-age system, known as a stellerator, generated its first batch of hydrogen plasma when it was first fired up earlier this year. The new tests basically give scientists the green light to proceed to the next stage of the process.

 

[SeymourGore]

I like stories like this, makes me believe we will achieve long distance space travel and stuff.

Of course, there's also the concern someone makes a bomb out of this tech.

 

[Nafensoriel]

You can make a bomb out of sugar but we dump that crap in everything including sugar.

 

[westrock2000]

[tinfoil] Once Drumpf installs the CEO of ExxonMobil as Secretary of State, Mr. Tillerson will be able to order these pesky energy researchers to get "disappeared" by that sweet network of spy hitmen called the CIA. In the name of "National Security", of course.

I've only been in the alternative news genre for about 15 years, but there is always some bullshit perpetual motion infinite energy idea out there. And they have all been foiled by big coal....or was it big pharma? Oh no, big pharma is what allows this stuff to perpetuate.

Keanu even did it back in 1996 with lots of hoses and some water, bless his heart.
(I saw this in theater)

 

[viscountalpha]

Article was a fluff piece. Nothing useful inside.

 

[pxc]

Let me show you my "legitimate" bridge deed and get you a $2000 set of speakers for "only" $300 from a white van since you seem like the right kind of sucker to target.

The title is so misleading, it's comparable to those classic scams.

No, it's not a "star in a jar". It's a large and expensive piece of lab equipment that requires more energy input than it produces and is nowhere near ready for market. It's a piece of "5-10 years from now" vaporware, just like all other plasma fusion devices have been for decades.

 

[Gorankar]

[tinfoil] Once Drumpf installs the CEO of ExxonMobil as Secretary of State, Mr. Tillerson will be able to order these pesky energy researchers to get "disappeared" by that sweet network of spy hitmen called the CIA. In the name of "National Security", of course.

As if that was not going to be the outcome regardless of who is president.
If it actually works, can be miniaturized, and can then be safely and cheaply implemented, he and his staff will disappear or die, and the patents will be "purchased" by some holding company owned by big oil and never see the light of day. Right now this is just a proof of concept with who knows how many years of research needed to actually create a viable product. Provided a viable product can ever be built that is.

 

[Madoc]

I like stories like this, makes me believe we will achieve long distance space travel and stuff.

Of course, there's also the concern someone makes a bomb out of this tech.

Still need gravity manipulation and a way to achieve speeds that make interstellar travel less onerous. But this will certainly help in system navigation and exploration.

 

[Tsumi]

I like stories like this, makes me believe we will achieve long distance space travel and stuff.

Of course, there's also the concern someone makes a bomb out of this tech.

It's actually easier to make a fusion bomb than it is to make a viable fusion reactor. We've had fusion bombs for about 50 years now I believe.

 

[somecallmeTim]

"Waste" product is Helium. Not a bad deal as Helium is getting scarce (or is very controlled).

 

[Sufu]

I read that a german laboratory was able to run a fusion reactor that used a magnetic field to keep the plasma stable. It uses less energy than traditional methods, and it did run, but I'd say we're far from being "one step closer". All current fusion reactors require far more energy than they an produce. I did not read the article because it's probably nothing more clickbait FUD.

 

[Rustynuts]

"Waste" product is Helium. Not a bad deal as Helium is getting scarce (or is very controlled).

Umm, they found a new pocket of helium to be mined. No longer that scarce.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36651048

 

[sfsuphysics]

I was under the impression that magnetic confinement was already done. The problem is keeping it sustained. The biggest issue is how do you use that energy? Well you're basically back at the good old days of boiling water to make steam, but how do you boil the water

 

[Krenum]

Probably wont happen. Big energy doesn't want free energy for the public, there's no money in it for them. Just look at what they did to Nikola Tesla.

 

[Krenum]

I was under the impression that magnetic confinement was already done. The problem is keeping it sustained. The biggest issue is how do you use that energy? Well you're basically back at the good old days of boiling water to make steam, but how do you boil the water

Lots of Magnets & lots of Ball Bearings.

 

[evilsofa]

Umm, they found a new pocket of helium to be mined. No longer that scarce.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36651048

Even that article states that find is only "several years supply". We're going to regret pissing so much of it away on stupid party balloons.

 

[J Macker]

Wow overreact much?

And FYI, the waste products of fusion is far more than just helium, man made fusion isn't doing the PP cycle fusion, it's most likely doing D+T fusion which kicks out an energetic neutron in addition to the helium, that neutron will embed itself into part of the reactor, and will make whatever it comes into contact your radioactive waste, including the chamber itself. Because magnetic confinement isn't going to stop a neutron.

lol. Trying to teach these people something, huh?

A neutron walks into a bar and asks "how much for a beer?"
The bartender says, "for you? no charge."

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert, but I'm pretty sure that if they actually found a way to sustain the fusion reaction (and have a medium for transferring the energy to a secondary loop), then they'd find a way to moderate the neutrons and thus extend the useful life of the enclosure (housing) for the reactor.

And there's probably some metals which are less susceptible to activation (or has a relatively short half-life after it has been activated). I'd be more concerned about the temperature effects and ensuring that the system can withstand the harsh conditions for long periods of time. We (society) tend to forget about disposal costs and cleanup when doing initial design & construction, so even if the materials do become radioactive waste, I'm sure we'll figure out what to do with it..... sometime later.

it's always fun to get another fusion carrot though. Keeps us hoping that there will one day be unlimited cheap electricity.

 

[Inglix_the_Mad]

We've been "real close" to nuclear fusion for how long now? I believe the best result has been "break-even" meaning it produced as much energy as it consumed. The real problem is after you start it, you've got to maintain the reaction for a long period of time or it's pointless. The energy production must be continuous to replace other forms of energy, and you won't get that for a while yet I'm guessing.

 

[Tsumi]

Probably wont happen. Big energy doesn't want free energy for the public, there's no money in it for them. Just look at what they did to Nikola Tesla.

If/when these reactors come online, they will be very expensive, hardly free. The source material may be close to free, but manpower, equipment, and maintenance aren't.

We've been "real close" to nuclear fusion for how long now? I believe the best result has been "break-even" meaning it produced as much energy as it consumed. The real problem is after you start it, you've got to maintain the reaction for a long period of time or it's pointless. The energy production must be continuous to replace other forms of energy, and you won't get that for a while yet I'm guessing.

We achieved break-even for the reaction itself. This does not take into account energy inefficiency of the energy input, confinement energy, and output recovery efficiency. We are a long way from neutral energy for the system, let alone usable energy extraction.

 

[cyclone3d]

Even that article states that find is only "several years supply". We're going to regret pissing so much of it away on stupid party balloons.

Because Helium just magically ceases to exist once it is used to fill up balloons?

Kinda like how water ceases to be after it is used. Water is just much easier to get than it is to harvest helium from the atmosphere.

 

[Babbster]

Jesus Christ, these self righteous environMENTALists annoy the shit out of me. In the glorious words of George Carlin. "They don't give a shit about the planet, they just care about a clean place to live".

Hope a massive earthquake swallows them up real soon. "Hows the planet doing now fuckers?".

The ones made entirely out of straw are particularly terrible.

 

[evilsofa]

Because Helium just magically ceases to exist once it is used to fill up balloons?

Kinda like how water ceases to be after it is used. Water is just much easier to get than it is to harvest helium from the atmosphere.

I don't think you quite understand how little helium can be harvested from the atmosphere, and how much demand there is for helium.

"If all neon plants were equipped to extract helium, the amount produced would satisfy less than 0.1 percent of the current demand. Furthermore, if all existing air separation plants were upgraded to extract helium, the amount produced would still be less than 1 percent of the current demand." (source, page 40)

 

[Dayaks]

ITER is supposed to produce more than it consumes in 2027

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER

Not for very long though, but would be the first to do it. 500MW while consuming 50MW.

 

[Trimlock]

This article is probably spun from the news of some researchers who refined the containment to help make the reaction process last longer. It's pretty incredible to see how far we have come with this.

 

[DeathFromBelow]

Because Helium just magically ceases to exist once it is used to fill up balloons?

Yes, just not magically. Earth doesn't have enough gravity to hold on to helium. Helium in the atmosphere eventually escapes to space.

The helium we use for medicine/industry/party balloons is harvested as a by-product of oil drilling. It's not practical/economical to generate helium via fusion reactors or to harvest it from the air.

 

[Shintai]

Because Helium just magically ceases to exist once it is used to fill up balloons?

Kinda like how water ceases to be after it is used. Water is just much easier to get than it is to harvest helium from the atmosphere.

Helium escapes the atmosphere into space. Hydrogen does as well, but unlike Helium. Hydrogen is very reactive.

 

[Inglix_the_Mad]

ITER is supposed to produce more than it consumes in 2027

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER

Not for very long though, but would be the first to do it. 500MW while consuming 50MW.

While I hold out hope, they've predicted that they'd produce more than consumed more than once.

 

[IcePickFreak]

This reminded me about Andrea Rossi with his cold fusion "E-Cat" that, at this point, could be made into a movie. Some say it's legit, a bunch say it's not, a flamboyant personality, secret testing by the US Military & companies, lawsuits.. it's got it all.

 

[Deleted member 93354]

You guys didn't read the article did you? This is being done at Princeton and done in cooperation with the DOE and scientist around the world. This is one of those "No one will own it" research ideas.

 

[Deleted member 93354]

Yes, just not magically. Earth doesn't have enough gravity to hold on to helium. Helium in the atmosphere eventually escapes to space.

The helium we use for medicine/industry/party balloons is harvested as a by-product of oil drilling. It's not practical/economical to generate helium via fusion reactors or to harvest it from the air.

It's also a very common byproduct of nuclear fission.

 

[Deleted member 93354]

I was under the impression that magnetic confinement was already done. The problem is keeping it sustained. The biggest issue is how do you use that energy? Well you're basically back at the good old days of boiling water to make steam, but how do you boil the water

stokes shift to microwave and infra-red?

 

[vr.]

Lots of Magnets & lots of Ball Bearings.

 

[Wiffle]

Still not sure how fusion reactors are supposed to produce net energy given the amount of energy required to initiate the reaction and contain them. The sun works because its basically a massive explosion that's taking billions of years to run its course, but it will die out at some point. But Im sure some do goodie billionaire is willing to throw money at the idea so they to can "foster the environment that created it."

Should spend more effort on figuring out how a singularity works and use that for energy generation. Self contained and the only emissions it produces are directional, and as far as we know they don't stop.

Gravity is a bogus theory that only applies on a large planetary scale and we use it because we have no other method to explain whats going on behind the scenes, kind of like the idea of gods and spirits.

Absolutes don't exist in the real world and nothing is ever lost, yet our entire mathematical system is based on absolutes and zeroes.

The Path of least resistance is the only inescapable law that applies to everything, and by refuting this you only prove its existence because you will have used the least amount of effort you believe is required to refute it.

Your goal determines sum parts required to make it possible.

Don't take me too seriously, I know I don't.

Keep lots of salt around, you are going to take a lot of grains before this sideshow is over.

Seriously crazy words from a not so serious person.

Interwebs r srs bizness.

Im done, and Im sure your brain is too along with the fava beans. Lets eat!

 

[cambrian]

 

[westrock2000]

Still not sure how fusion reactors are supposed to produce net energy given the amount of energy required to initiate the reaction and contain them. The sun works because its basically a massive explosion that's taking billions of years to run its course, but it will die out at some point. But Im sure some do goodie billionaire is willing to throw money at the idea so they to can "foster the environment that created it."

I read a book by Isaac Asimov from the 70's called The Gods Themselves. It's about a parallel universe that finds a way to transfer matter from their dimension into ours. There dimension is different enough that a common metal there is a radioactive element here and visa versa, so we create an exchange system where we exchange these elements and each gets the radioactive elements we need to make unlimited energy.

But there is a catch that the exchange process helps their dimension but actually is causing our dimension to become electrically unbalanced (at the atomic level) and will eventually cause a catastrophic disaster. So humans comes up with a theory that since there are infinite dimensions, we can just find one that hasn't had a big bang yet and start dumping this extra energy into it...and who's to say that's not how our dimension came to be...and who's to say that's not what happened to the dimension that is pumping their waste into our dimension. So basically it's a story of infinite energy using a round robin....or pay this credit card with that credit card model.

Isaac Asimov was a smart cookie.

 

[Powerage]

Still not sure how fusion reactors are supposed to produce net energy given the amount of energy required to initiate the reaction and contain them. The sun works because its basically a massive explosion that's taking billions of years to run its course, but it will die out at some point. But Im sure some do goodie billionaire is willing to throw money at the idea so they to can "foster the environment that created it."

Should spend more effort on figuring out how a singularity works and use that for energy generation. Self contained and the only emissions it produces are directional, and as far as we know they don't stop.

Gravity is a bogus theory that only applies on a large planetary scale and we use it because we have no other method to explain whats going on behind the scenes, kind of like the idea of gods and spirits.

Absolutes don't exist in the real world and nothing is ever lost, yet our entire mathematical system is based on absolutes and zeroes.

The Path of least resistance is the only inescapable law that applies to everything, and by refuting this you only prove its existence because you will have used the least amount of effort you believe is required to refute it.

Your goal determines sum parts required to make it possible.

Don't take me too seriously, I know I don't.

Yeah you don't really seem to understand any of these concepts. Guess starting in 2017, even Physics is a matter of opinion.

 

[Darunion]

I read a book by Isaac Asimov from the 70's called The Gods Themselves. It's about a parallel universe that finds a way to transfer matter from their dimension into ours. There dimension is different enough that a common metal there is a radioactive element here and visa versa, so we create an exchange system where we exchange these elements and each gets the radioactive elements we need to make unlimited energy.

But there is a catch that the exchange process helps their dimension but actually is causing our dimension to become electrically unbalanced (at the atomic level) and will eventually cause a catastrophic disaster. So humans comes up with a theory that since there are infinite dimensions, we can just find one that hasn't had a big bang yet and start dumping this extra energy into it...and who's to say that's not how our dimension came to be...and who's to say that's not what happened to the dimension that is pumping their waste into our dimension. So basically it's a story of infinite energy using a round robin....or pay this credit card with that credit card model.

Isaac Asimov was a smart cookie.

I always felt we started from garbage lol