• kristina [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    For the record more details were released on Tuesday and that is what he goes over, but it is correct that they achieved ignition and it is still an important milestone

    Whats important is all these little breakthroughs are feeding into the ITER facility in France which intends on encompassing many metrics, not small specific ones like the one achieved the other day.

    For actually solving climate change in a reasonable amount of time we'll need a lot of nuclear fission and nuclear recycling facilities as well as hydroelectric dams, and those are really the only choices that dont have extreme maintenance costs :shrug-outta-hecks: Its pretty sad thinking that France and Sweden are the closest to achieving carbon neutrality in a developed country and everyone else is just giving in to oil lobby fear mongering about nuclear fission and decommissioning all their plants in favor of coal, natural gas, and oil.

    • sexywheat [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      While I'm stoked about any breakthrough in green tech it's frustrating seeing all the fuss about this since at best the implementation is decades away. We needed to start the transition off fossil fuels decades ago and we already have the tech to do this just not the political will (or economic system).

      Just off the top of my head:

      • Nuclear fusion
      • Hydroelectric dams
      • Small modular nuclear reactors
      • Synthetic hydrocarbon fuel (shipping, aviation)
      • Hydrogen fuel cell (cars, long haul trucking)
      • Trains and metros
      • Planting lots of mf trees

      All this already exists today, it's just a question of implementation. At this stage the only thing that gives me hope is China, because they're basically doing (or already planning to do) everything in the list above.

      • kristina [she/her]
        ·
        2 years ago

        China is making some huge leaps when it comes to automating the construction of massive concrete structures like dams, plus its important to build dams in China to reduce deaths, so its a double whammy.

      • diesel_9 [none/use name]
        ·
        2 years ago

        One Chinese reactor design - the DHR-400 is a pool type reactor like you would find in university that is designed solely for district heating. Such a reactor would be a good start for many countries that need to start training nuclear engineers and technicians. They should be built in most universities and polytechnics, with district heating infrastructure wherei t's missing built out ASAP to provide free heat to every household, both urban and rural.

        Some people will freak out, but arctic cold snaps seem to be a major feature of climate change going forward, along with an energy crisis created by the renewable induced dependency on natural gas. People need a vision of socialism of free district heating and heated streets/roads. In some locations, geothermal will do, but to be able to deploy nuclear anywhere is key. Heat pumps only work for well insulated houses and that is incredibly expensive. We need to stress that every building needs to be heated properly and that we have the technology and resources to do this.