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Scientists successfully replicate historic nuclear fusion breakthrough three times (www.cnn.com)

submitted 10 months ago by Rapidcreek@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

The hydrogen is the most common element but 96% of it is currently produced from fossil fuels.

I'm not expert either, but I don't think most of that 96% of hydrogen is a candidate for the fusion we're doing today. NIF (like the OP article) uses Deuterium (Hydrogen with 1 neutron) and Tritium (Hydrogen with 2 neutrons) is what is squashed together to produce energy. The more neutrons make the fusion "easier" to produce energy.

Naturally occurring Deuterium isn't crazy hard to find. Its in sea water, but you have to go through A LOT of sea water to pull out the rare atoms of Deuterium. Naturally occurring Tritium is much more rare with having to find very small amounts in ground water.

Humanity is also able to make Deuterium and Tritium as byproducts of nuclear fission.

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

For reference and because I was curious enough to look for it, Deuterium is 0.0156% of the hydrogen in ocean water.

[–] Promethiel@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

In a perfect world, NASA was always funded like Humanity depended on it since after WW2, and by 2010 a unified global space organization supplanted the need for any militaries because we're too busy building fission plants on the moon to bind with that sweet HE3 to power the Space Mobile Homes affordable for all because of course we researched fusion without profit motive until it worked.

Kinda my preferred alt-world, now someone please fire up all of the world's particle accelerators on high at once, that'll get us there right?