[ RadSafe ] Absurd? Oh, the irony!

[Bernard Cohen]

I believe the neutrons from fusion reactions are to be used to react 
with Lithium to produce tritium, which is then used for fuel. The 
kinetic energy of the neutrons would be the primary source of heat for 
generating electricity; I assume they would interact with water which 
thermalizes them and in turn is heated to produce steam. The rest of the 
energy release would be in kinetic energy of Helium nuclei and protons; 
at least some of this would be required to maintain the temperature of 
the plasma

John Andrews wrote:

> The problem as I see it with fusion is that all the execss energy is 
> given to neutrons.  In order to convert this essentially thermal 
> energy of the neutrons into usable thermal energy we have to use 
> uranium as a blanket to convert the energy into fission energy using 
> the vastly greater energy of the fission products to convert to heat.  
> Lots of it.  With that process we are back to all the problems we have 
> today of radioactive waste.  The fusion process is pie in the sky 
> until we talk about the real problem of converting the fusion energy 
> into heat and then into electricity.
>
> John Andrews, Knoxville, Tennesse
>
> bobcherry at cox.net wrote:
>
>> ``Nuclear fusion poses the exact problems of nuclear fission in the 
>> production of radioactive waste, the risks of accidents and 
>> proliferation,'' said Frederic Miller, head of Greenpeace France's 
>> nuclear campaign, in an e-mailed statement. ``France seems hypnotized 
>> by this absurd project.'' --------------
>>
>> I wrote a high school English paper on controlled nuclear fusion back 
>> in 1963, at a time when fusion power plants were about "ten years 
>> away." At one time, I intended to get my PhD in plasma physics, but 
>> the local draft board altered my plans and diverted my course.
>>
>> In my opinion, controlled nuclear fusion to produce electricity is 
>> the primary long-term solution to humanity's energy needs. Once it is 
>> online, it can eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels (hydrogen 
>> produced from water using hydrolysis would replace gasoline and 
>> natural gas) and nuclear fission for almost all needs.
>> It is well known that the radioactive wastes are relatively 
>> short-lived and highly manageable, despite whatever Greenpeace might 
>> say to further its agenda. The reaction is so difficult to maintain 
>> that it can't run away; if something goes wrong, the reaction stops 
>> (some plasma physicists compare controlled nuclear fusion to 
>> squeezing Jello). And I would like an explanation of how controlled 
>> fusion leads to nuclear proliferation.
>>
>> The physics was done in the 30s. The engineering remains a formidable 
>> task of scaling and control. We need to get to it.
>>
>> Bob C
>>
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>>  
>>
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