Understanding and accepting fusion as an alternative energy source
Abstract
Fusion, the process that powers our Sun, has long promised to be a virtually inexhaustible source of energy for mankind. No other alternative energy source holds such bright promise, and none has ever presentd such formidable scientific and engineering challenges. Serious research efforts have continued for over 30 years in an attempt to harness and control fusion here on Earth. Scientists have made considerable progress in the last decade toward achieving the conditions required for fusion power, and recent experimental results and technological progress have made the scientific feasibility of fusion a virtual certainty. With this knowledge and confidence, the emphasis can now shift toward developing power plants that are practical and economical. Although the necessary technology is not in hand today, the extension to an energy producing system in 20 years is just as attainable as was putting a man on the Moon. In the next few decades, the world's population will likely double while the demand for energy will nearly quadruple. Realistic projections show that within the next generation a significant fraction of our electric power must come from alternative energy sources. Increasing environmental concerns may further accelerate this timetable in which new energy sources must be introduced. The continued development of fusion systems to help meet the energy needs of the future will require greater public understanding and support of this technology. The fusion community must do more to make the public aware of the fact that energy is a critical international issue and that fusion is a viable and necessary energy technology that will be safe and economical.
- Publication:
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Presented at the 8th Miami International Conference on Alternative Energy Sources
- Pub Date:
- December 1987
- Bibcode:
- 1987aes..conf.....G
- Keywords:
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- Economic Impact;
- Energy Policy;
- Energy Technology;
- Nuclear Fusion;
- Nuclear Power Plants;
- Energy Consumption;
- Fusion Reactors;
- Magnetic Field Configurations;
- Nuclear Power Reactors;
- Reactor Safety;
- Reactor Technology;
- Thermonuclear Reactions;
- Plasma Physics