03 Jul '16 08:48>
Originally posted by humyDid you listen to the whole talk? It is based on some really innovative thinking by the young scientists in his team, starting with the new superconductor magnets capable of much higher field strengths and other engineering breakthroughs like the replaceable superconductors where you can remove the inner components which are built with 3D printing with innovations in cooling and the liquid used to convert the neutrons to heat.
I am absolutely certain that they could both make it cost effective and then scale up to generate much of our electricity from it eventually.
My only concern is, by the time they are in a position to do that, I wonder if renewables would have become so cost effective and it would be so easy for us to go 100% renewable that there would be no poi ...[text shortened]... ent may be possible until we have already spend a huge amount of time money and resources on it.
Originally posted by sonhouseI admit I just don't have the patients to do that.
Did you listen to the whole talk?
Originally posted by humyIt seems just doubling the field strength allows making it ten times smaller. The interesting part about the superconducting ribbon is the superconductor portion is 1 MICRON thick yet conducts over 1000 amps of current.
I admit I just don't have the patients to do that.
From another thread, I already knew about the huge improvement in magnetic field strengths now available to them and how that promises to significantly improve fusion.
Originally posted by humyI have watched the talk and the good news is that much of the spending on this particular project will by the private sector. In addition much of the work well produce useful science whether or not the fusion power becomes viable in the near term.
I think there needs to be a proper assessment on what sort of time scale we are taking about here. The big dilemma I see is that no such proper assessment may be possible until we have already spend a huge amount of time money and resources on it.
Originally posted by sonhouseThe issue isn't 'how much current can you squeeze through it'. After all, you can just add more coils. The issue previously was that superconductors tended to stop working if the magnetic field went over a certain strength. In this design the limits are not being pushed as far as current is concerned so no need for more current.
I wonder if you get much improvement if you double the thickness to 2 microns, 20,000 Angstroms?
Originally posted by twhiteheadThere would be an issue with size however, if you have to increase the coil length and such, the whole affair gets bigger and would defeat the purpose. The other issue would be the support structure which seems to have to withstand some 5000 atmospheres of magnetic pressure. That is about 150,000 PSI, a healthy stress! If the magnetic field doubled again and the stress was linear, we would be talking 300,000 PSI and that in turn could mean twice the metal to withstand that force. If so, the plasma core could get smaller at the expense of making the support structure twice as large and twice as heavy so it would seem to have a limiting factor there unless much stronger metals were developed that was both non magnetic and twice as strong as the metal used for this project.
The issue isn't 'how much current can you squeeze through it'. After all, you can just add more coils. The issue previously was that superconductors tended to stop working if the magnetic field went over a certain strength. In this design the limits are not being pushed as far as current is concerned so no need for more current.