The Magic of Nuclear Fusion
And other illusions
picture from The Secrets of Alchemy
by Lawrence M. Principe Detail of The Bald-Headed Alchemist, after David Teniers II, 17th century, oil on panel. Science History Institute
After reading Tom Shepstone’s Guest Post by Duggan Flanakin, I was inspired to compare today’s Fusion experiments with a few other great fantasies from the past.
Alchemy, Transmutation, The Fountain of Youth, and Fusion
Zosimos of Panopolis was an eminent figure during the 3rd-4th century CE, an alchemist in the realm of transmutation, where base metals supposedly would metamorphose into precious substances.
Juan Ponce de León, born into Spanish nobility, was a soldier and explorer who served as governor of the eastern province of Hispaniola when he decided to explore a nearby island, now known as Puerto Rico. In pursuit of a rumored fountain of youth located on an island known as Bimini, Ponce de León led an expedition to the coast of Florida in 1513. Thinking it was the island he sought, he sailed back to colonize the region in 1521, but was fatally wounded in a Native American attack soon after his arrival.
El Dorado is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions – before diving into a sacred lake to wash it off.
The Seven Cities of Cibola are the mythical lands of gold that the Spanish of the 16th century believed existed somewhere in the southwest of North America, comparable to the better-known mythical city of El Dorado.
I’ll close with the same quote that Duggan Flanakin gave us:
“Maybe that’s why Zap’s Shumiak says, “We fusion researchers sometimes feel like medieval cathedral builders. You may never see the finished product, but nevertheless, you know you’re doing something great and beautiful”
The money squandered on the search for fusion energy could have been used to make a lot of things that actually work, like a lot of fission reactors. Or to improve fission reactors. Or burn coal cleanly.
Instead we have to spend the money on a proven failure and confessed deception, fusion. Like the money spent on wind, solar and carbon capture, it is a profligate waste.
Has anyone researched hat has been done with 70 years of failed fusion devices? A pictoral history of building what has been in effect a bunch of sci-fi movie props wo I ld be fascinating.
I just had a thought: attempts at fusion so far involve attempting to hold gaseous (or plasma) H2 in place through ongoing fusion reactions. But U is arranged in a matrix of solids as UO2, using fluids (H2O or Na) to attenuate neutrons and remove heat. Why not embed H2 in something solid? Can fusion occur without intense heat? I suppose not. Out of the box doesn’t always work.