http://www.iflscience.com/physics/germanys-fusion-reactor-creates-hydrogen-plasma-world-first
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
Still a long way from being a practical source of energy, but a step is still a step. The stellerator design does have the advantage of being able to operate continuously, which would likely be a better fit for a power plant than the tokamaks (which would run for short bursts).
Most of the practical fusion reactions emit high energy neutrons and that is going to lead to problems with activation.
- Erik
The relevance of this thread to railroading has failed to be seen.
Some of the temperatures discussed in the link don’t sound right, so I’m not sure if this thread is a joke or something legitimate.
Nevertheless, there is curiosity if a fusion powered train is possible. And, would communities accept a million degree prime mover passing through …
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
A fusion reactor would not fit inside a locomotive - but it could easily supply power to an electrified railroad, be it equipped with an overhead wire or advanced batteries.
Typical plasma temperatures quoted for an operational fusion reactor are on the order of 100 million degrees, hence the focus on magnetic confinement.
K. P. Harrier The relevance of this thread to railroading has failed to be seen. Some of the temperatures discussed in the link don’t sound right, so I’m not sure if this thread is a joke or something legitimate. Nevertheless, there is curiosity if a fusion powered train is possible. And, would communities accept a million degree prime mover passing through …
The relevance to railroading is this. If fusion reactors become a reality (based on this big step) clean electricity will be a reality. That will largely end the use of coal for power generation, eliminating a traffic source for the rails. Fusion locomotives are neither suggested nor likely.
All of Amtrak could be electrified for less money.
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
Isn't this a lot like electricity from solar energy? The power is free. The means to harvest that free power is great.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
The only "Big Step" that matters in the commercialization of Nuclear Fusion for power generation is being able to design and build a fusion reactor that can produce more power than it uses to sustain and contain the fusion reaction on a continuous basis...
So far after five decades of serious work there are no immediate timelines for that. Those who do try to predict when it might happen tend to say it will be the middle of this century at the soonest....
However, the Germans have reached a serious milestone in the development of electromagnetically confined fusion and that is an impressive feat given that that type of fusion reactor has up until recently not been able to sustain a reaction due to the plasma touching the sides of the confinement vessel which causes it to "flame out"(so to speak).....
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
There's a "Not Quite So Big Step" in devoping the materials that can withstand the fast neutron flux generated by most practical fusion reactions. This is known as the "first wall" problem. One estimate was that each atom in the first wall would be knocked out of its position in the crystal lattice about 10 times during the lifetime of the first wall, with consequent ugly things happing to te crystal structure of the material.
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