bluestraveller42 t1_jabu7i0 wrote
Reply to comment by rksd in The Case for Callisto by MoreGull
Then to extract energy from the hydrogen you can either burn it ( just recombine with the oxygen you just dissociated from) or put it in a (fusion) reactor.
rksd t1_jabvua8 wrote
I forgot about the possibility of fusion but that seems like a later on mission since we haven't even cracked practical breakeven fusion here yet.
schnazzychase t1_jacow6y wrote
There actually have been successful experiments in fusion that result in a net gain. The news just doesn't talk about it.
spacetimeguy t1_jacs8y0 wrote
Sorry, I can't let this go unchallenged.
The "news" reports on net-gain fusion all the time.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-energy
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/nuclear-fusion-reaction-us-announcement-12-13-22/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60312633
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nuclear-fusion-60-minutes-2023-01-15/
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What they don't report is that it's a false measure based on the energy of ignition while ignoring the energy of containment. Here's the best video I know of to explain it.
rksd t1_jad7x4c wrote
I'm aware which is why I used the word "practical". When we have a city of say, a million people getting most of their power from a fusion reactor then I might get chubby about the prospect of us operating a fusion reactor the better part of a billion kilometers from here.
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