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I see all sorts of posts, uploads, etc. regarding nuclear energy, but all of them deal with conventional light water reactors, even if some posts are about the next generation AP1000 technology. I have not seen any posts about other, safer and more promising types of nuclear energy, like fusion! Is it because it's not yet commercially viable, or has it been totally abandoned by the nuclear community?

Elecman, I don't know if it has been abandoned, or not, but you are right, there isn't much posted about fusion or the thorium cycle, another up-and-coming form of nuclear energy.

If I had to guess, I'd say that most most posters, even those in the nuclear field, are not familiar with these concepts and are comfortable dealing with the old-and-tried light water reactor technology, which is easier to understand and deal with. They probably don't even have the education of knowledge to understand them, but that's just a guess.

Having said that, may be your message will be what's needed to start the conversation about these new/future nuclear energy processes. We'll see.

I remember, years ago, when fusion was indeed a hot item (no pun intended).

At the time, as I remember it, there were a couple of competing technologies with plasma magnetic confinement (Tokamak reactors) attracting a lot of attention. But, after spending decades and billions of dollars on research that didn't really pan out, I think most governments sort of gave up and now only some academic interest and research exists. I also recall the pebble reactors, LMFBR, HTGR and all sorts of other novel ideas that didn't just work out.

Now, the buzz is Thorium. I don't know much about it and I wouldn't mind learning if someone wants to share some info here, but I fear that this will also be one more "interesting" technology that just didn't work.

The fusion research activity might have been toned down, but it definitely hasn't stopped.

PhilChan wrote:At the time, as I remember it, there were a couple of competing technologies with plasma magnetic confinement (Tokamak reactors) attracting a lot of attention. But, after spending decades and billions of dollars on research that didn't really pan out, I think most governments sort of gave up and now only some academic interest and research exists. I also recall the pebble reactors, LMFBR, HTGR and all sorts of other novel ideas that didn't just work out.

Your analysis appears to be a bit simplistic for such a complex technological, political and economic concept. I think the only part you may have gotten right is that governments stopped spending money on fusion research at the rate they used to. But, that's not so much because the technology stopped being promising, but because global economic conditions made hard for governments to authorize expenditures that didn't have a short term payback.

I think you'll see general interest in Fusion be rekindled, once world economic conditions stabilize. But even at this point, there appear to be lots of work being done in that area, like General Fusion (in Canada), Helion Energy, Tri-Alpha, Bussard’s Polywell device, the Life project, Focus fusion, etc.

Don't write Fusion off, yet

Any links to the other types of fusion work you mention in your post?

I'd be very interested in seeing some, if you have them.

Awaxjr wrote:Any links to the other types of fusion work you mention in your post?

Here are some links and a couple of documents, Elecman. Hope you find them interesting.

http://www.generalfusion.com/overview.html
http://www.generalfusion.com/generator_design.html
http://helionenergy.com/?page_id=164
http://www.alternative-energy-action-no ... -2011.html

EdMack wrote:If I had to guess, I'd say that most most posters, even those in the nuclear field, are not familiar with these concepts and are comfortable dealing with the old-and-tried light water reactor technology, which is easier to understand and deal with. They probably don't even have the education of knowledge to understand them, but that's just a guess.

Really? Is there a need for such comments? So, you think that fusion is just so hard to understand that nuclear engineers or scientists that haven't specialized in it cannot understand it and that's why it's not popular?

If you really believe that to be true and *you* understand it, then it would make sense for you to post some information here and help the rest of us understand it better. Don't you think?