[OC] Cost of Carbon Zero - Historical Look At U.S. Funding of Fusion EnergySubmitted by Metalytiq t3_zlqyox in dataisbeautiful
ignigenaquintus t1_j07844q wrote
Reply to comment by agate_ in [OC] Cost of Carbon Zero - Historical Look At U.S. Funding of Fusion Energy by Metalytiq
Why though? Better make hydrogen, it has higher energy density and it’s use don’t create anything toxic.
agate_ t1_j079qap wrote
> higher energy density
Higher energy density per mass, but much much lower energy density per volume, which really matters if you're building a vehicle. There's only so much room inside an airplane for fuel tanks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density#/media/File:Energy_density.svg
But regardless, whether it's gasoline or hydrogen, the point is that with enough free energy you can synthesize any fuel you need.
ignigenaquintus t1_j07ieex wrote
Well yes, but with a specific energy about three times the one of gasoline and a specific density of about 1/4 of gasoline the reduction in energy per unit of volume isn’t so massive and the benefits on the reduction of negative externalities is very very significant. Please correct me if I am wrong but in theory we would need deposits that are 33% bigger in volume, correct?, the problem is the temperature necessary to keep it liquid of course. And as important volume is, weight may be an even bigger factor for some transport systems, like airplanes.
In any case the point, as you mention, is that with more and cheaper energy we could sintetice the fuel.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments