Ferrari Mailing List: New Physics is not going to save us

[georgedodson (georgedodson]

All,

Sorry, I am a day or two behind in my reading. If anyone on the list is waiting 
for some "new physics" to come along and provide a new energy source, they need 
to take a cold shower. Physics research is at least 50 to 100 years ahead of 
applicable technology.   Quarks and lattice quantum chromodynamics are not 
going to hellp. The most advanced energy sources now  and on the horizon are 
the breeder reactor and plasma fusion. both from the 1950's. If you think that 
wind and solar are going to save you, then you need to wake up and look a the 
power density numbers. Solar is ~ 1kw/meter square at noon at the equator. 
Multiply that tines ~3% efficiency and you cover Rhode Island with solar cells 
to equal one nuke. A wind tower has about as much power as an inline six 
cylinder. Greenpeace will sue you if you try to put one on a scenic mountain 
and Ted Kennedy will oppose you putting one up where he likes to sail his $1-2M 
 racing yachts. So, what are you going to do? Plasma fusion is still 30 years 
away from an operable power reactor, even with ITER, and where is this mountain 
of Tritium that you are planng to burn? the only answer is a Li blanket around 
a reactor, so why nor run reactors.  Power reactors have Avogadro's number of 
atoms in less than a thimble and produce 200 MeV/fission. Plasma fusion runs in 
what most people would see as a pretty good vacuum and D-T produces only ~20 
Mev/fusion. It has the energy density of, you guessed it, an inline 6 cylinder. 
Then there is the small problem of containing the Sun 3 meters from something 
that you can fabricate in the lab. The French are 80% nuclear, they have a 
breeder program and reprocess all the nuchear fuel rods in Europe. There isn't 
even enough Uranium on the planet for the electricity that we need. We need 
breeder reactors and we need them now.  

Regards,

George