NationStates Jolt Archive

The Republic of Sharina announces development of two energy systems.

1. Fusion Power

2. Hydrogen Fuel Cells



Fusion Power

The prototype Fusion Power Reactor is being built at the Laoris Research Facility, located 1.4 kilometers deep inside the bedrocks of the Grebev Mountain Range.

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev27-12/graphics/rndp3.gif

We are developing even stronger containment fields to support the higher tempatures to initate deterium - deterium fusion reaction. Our scientists postulate that a single pint of water would be able to power a house for several weeks by a deterium- deterium reaction.

We are pursuring two possible methods to approach this issue.

1. Magnetic confinement (MFE)

In MFE, hundreds of cubic metres of D-T plasma at a density of less than a milligram per cubic metre are confined by a magnetic field at a few atmospheres pressure and heated to fusion temperature.

2. Inertial confinement (ICF)

In ICF, which is a newer line of research, laser or ion beams are focused very precisely onto the surface of a target, which is a sphere of D-T ice, a few millimetres in diameter. This evaporates or ionises the outer layer of the material to form a plasma crown which expands generating an inward-moving compression front or implosion which heats up the inner layers of material. The core or central hot spot of the fuel may be compressed to one thousand times its liquid density, and ignition occurs when the core temperature reaches about 100 million degrees Celsius. Thermonuclear combustion then spreads rapidly through the compressed fuel, producing several times more energy than was originally used to bombard the capsule. The time required for these reactions to occur is limited by the inertia of the fuel (hence the name), but is less than a microsecond. The aim is to produce repeated microexplosions.



Hydrogen Fuel Cells:

We have completed the prototypes several years ago, and work is now in progress to fully utilize this fantastic technology. We are developing methods to produce larger versions of the prototypes for use in large buildings, as well as large vehicles such as train locomotives or naval vessels.

This technology's fantastic appeal is due to the fact that it's byproduct is pure water. Water shortages will be a thing of the past, relegated to legends and myth. We will be able to terraform entire deserts into lush forests through this technology.

This has some practical uses in warfare as well. Bunkers, fortresses, houses, and buildings in Sharina will be able to retain electrical power if the power supply grids are knocked out. In addition, they will be able to hold out for considerable periods of time, thanks to the water supplies provided by the fuel cells.

Our largest prototype fuel cell reactor provided 1.5 K/W a hour. Data on it can be viewed in this link.

http://www.humboldt.edu/~serc/zweig.html


Basic and fundamental reaction that occurs in our hydrogen fuel cell reactors can be viewed here.

http://www.humboldt.edu/~serc/animation.html

There are plans for hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles.

http://www.humboldt.edu/~serc/vehiclefactsheet.html



Feedback, ideas, and suggestions welcome. :)

What system do you use to keep the reaction in check and not explode in your face like a fusion bomb?

Er... the main problem with the 'water sating the thirst of the world' idea is that you get the hydrogen to make the water from water... it's a catch 22.

Here's some examples of Fusion being feasible in modern times.

http://pa.essortment.com/fusionpower_png.htm

Work is being done on the ITER and JET prototype reactors in real life.

Some people place feasible commercial fusion power at the 2020 era, others place it at 2040. Not too far off from modern times, and a quite feasible Modern technology, as it is being developed and built even today (the ITER and JET for instance).

In Sharina's case, it pours considerable more money and resources into energy, laser, and construction technologies and industries than real life Earth nations do. At this rate, the 2020 - 2040 energy level of tech is present in 2004 - 2010 in Sharina.

I can understand why fusion power might be considered future tech. However, Sharina is only able to build large fusion reactors, for power plants and the largest Sharina navy vessels like Goliath and Levithian.

Miniature fusion reactors that power cars, houses, trains, etc. would definitely be considered future tech, even by me, as the technology to do that would most likely be in the 2150 - 2250 AD range. The most advanced technologies Sharina has would only be energy, lasers, and construction (all 3 are intricately connected... energy to produce lasers, which aid in construction). These tech levels would be 2020 - 2040 era, while ALL of its other techs would be 1940 - 2005 range.


Just to clear things up (for people who might think this is Future Tech)
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Er... the main problem with the 'water sating the thirst of the world' idea is that you get the hydrogen to make the water from water... it's a catch 22.


Chardonay, the fusion plants will use seawater (salty water), while hydrogen fuel cells produce freshwater as its byproduct.

Deterium is concentrated in seawater.

Further developments in Fusion Power news:

The prototype fusion reactor in the Grebev mountains was brought on-line yesterday afternoon, after intensive double and triple checking of all of its systems.

During the first recorded artficial fusion reaction in Sharina at 11:45 AM Lodis Standard Time, 300 megawatts / hour for six minutes were generated in a sustained reaction.

Work is now underway to develop stronger magnetic fields to aid in sustaining even longer reactions. We are aiming for a 30 minute sustained reaction with a boron solution. If it is successful, we will enhance the magentic fields for a deterium - deterium reaction, which takes place at tempatures in excess of 100 million degrees celsius.

More information will be upcoming as research progresses.

This has amassed interest from the Energy department. What the secrecy level of this, and would we be able to send some observers.

ICF fusion reactor news:

Considerable progress is being made on the ICF fusion technology. The first prototype of a pure ICF reactor has been completed, and testing shall commence within a week upon certification and triple checking of all its systems.

The ICF laser will be approximately 0.5 centimeters in diameter, firing upon a sphere of deterium - deterium approximately 15 centimeters in diameter. Multiple magnetic rings in the chamber will boost the containment capacity by several factors, providing the necessary containment strength needed for 100+ million degrees Celsius tempatures. In addition, it will provide reunduancy, so if one or two rings fail, the fusion reaction will continue to be sustained without catastrophic failure.

If successful, the ICF has the potential to supply not gigawatts, but terawatts (1,000 gigawatts or 1,000,000,000 kilowatts) of energy in a large scale reactor every year. The United States of America consumes approximately 3,900 terawatts every year, or 445 gigawatts every hour.

What's more is that multiple ICF reactors can be built in a single power plant. One ICF fusion power plant could theoretically provide 50 gigawatts every hour, which would generate 438 terawatts every year. Just nine ICF fusion plants could power the entire United States comfortably, and 50 ICF fusion plants could power the entire world, providing in excess of 20,000 terawatts every year, or 20 petawatts annually.

The capacity of ICF fusion plants will increase with the refining of ICF technology. There could thereotically be 1 terawatt a hour ICF reactors, but not for a few decades.



MFE fusion reactor news:

Studies of the prototype MFE reactor has yielded good results. Sharinan scientists have determined that MFE reactors could be employed in space vessels or sea navy vessels due to its reduced size and portability capacity.

MFE reactors provide less energy capacity than the ICF reactors due to the nature of fusion initation and additional power required to maintain overlapping magnetic fields. The largest MFE reactors can provide output of upwards to 1 gigawatt a hour as opposed to 10 gigawatts a hour from a single ICF fusion reactor.

The first MFE powered sea vessel is several years away from being prototyped, once our scientists develop appopriate anti-impact shielding and develop countermeasures aganist motion that could cause the fusion reactor to go haywire. Motion issues include violent shaking, swaying in water currents, hurricane conditions, vessels capsizing, earthquakes, tornadoes, and so forth.

ICF reactors are impratical for vessels due to the nature of its construction and laser equipment. Until vibrate-proof, shock-proof, and impact-proof laser systems can be developed, mobile ICF reactors are out of the question.

ICF fusion reactor news:

The prototype ICF reactor has experienced successes and setbacks over the past several weeks of activation and testing.

The ICF reactor experienced failure during the initial stages of testing, due to issues with the laser system. Initially, the laser didn't generate sufficient power to cause plasma crown expansion and sphere implosion to kick off fusion. After some serious investigation, scientists have found two culprits that caused the problem.

The laser wasn't aligned properly, and as a result, the laser didn't penetrate the sphere, and the energy loss from the off-center laser bursts was considerable. The second issue was that the laser required more power than initially thought, and additional wiring was installed to provide a boost in power.

Once the two laser problems were resolved, the ICF system began functioning correctly. The first documented ICF fusion reaction was achieved twelve days ago at 2:37 PM, Lodis Standard Time. The firing laser used 1.12 gigawatts of energy, and the resulting fusion released 5.47 gigawatts of energy. The fusion reaction lasted for 3.88 minutes. The net energy gain from the ICF reactor stands at 4.35 gigawatts per hour.

Further test runs and refinements has increased the sustained fusion reaction to 8 minutes over the past two weeks.

Sharina now officially has two fusion reactors operating in it, the MFE-01-PT and ICF-01-PT, which can generate approximately 4.8 Gigawatts per hour combined (with current improvement in the two reactors, providing an extra 0.15 gigawatt per hour).

We are now in the process of researching methods to increase sustained fusion in both types of reactors to exceed one hour (immediate goal), with the goal of having a sustained reaction last for 12 hours or longer.

We predict that the first commercial and civilian fusion plants will be built and developed within the next decade as our researchers increase sustained reaction times, add more safety features, and enhance delivery systems for ICF deterium spheres.

MFE Fusion news:

The first mobile MFE system has just been developed and tested last week. We tested our new shock-proof and roll-proof chambers in a large artifical subterrean lake in the Grebev mountains. We constructed a floating platform, with rudimentary hull plating and an engineering section. We constructed a specialized chamber that blends shock-proof and roll-proof capacities into it.

The chamber is divided into two parts. The outer section of the chamber comprised of two walls 30 centimeters thick. Sandwiched between the two walls is dense foam three meters thick, to provide protection aganist shocks from projectile or missile impacts. The inner chamber will employ six rods to connect with the spherical inner chamber, connecting it to the exterior foam sandwich walls at each point of the X-Y-Z axis. The three X-Y-Z circles will rotate to keep the fusion chamber at the X-Y coordinates with only 1 degree deviation in the Z axis. The chamber will use liquid and gyroscopes to provide excellent stability, similiar to systems used in the Segway scooters and liquid compass balls.

A diagram of the chamber will be provided within a few days.

This will prevent the fusion chamber from rolling during heavy waves, hurricanes, or severe weather. Theoretically, the chamber will remain upright even if the naval vessel is fully capsized.

If further tests go well, we can begin a prototype Levithian powered by the mobile MFE technology within a month or two. We expect a moderate 400 to 700 megawatt per hour MFE reactor to be built in the prototype Levithian, due to the ship's large size.

*TAG* from a fellow TAPRES member.

*Snooping tag* :)

Mobile MFE News:

The first Levithian Battleship powered by a Mobile MFE Reactor has set sail several hours ago, as of 11:32 AM Lodis Standard Time. The vessel will undergo several tests and will be put through every imaginable combat and emergency situation. The Levithian will be targeted by live fire missiles and shells, and it will sail through an hurricane.

We have decided to release a schematic of the Mobile MFE Reactor to aid in comphrending the basic concept behind it.

http://www.rit.edu/~rxd0205/nationstates/pictures/fusion/mobile_mfe.jpg

ICF Fusion News:

We have suceeded in constructing a viable commercial ICF power plant ahead of scheducle. The power plant went on-line this morning. Two ICF reactors will provide Sharina with approximately 16 Gigawatts per hour. Six additional ICF reactors are slated to be constructed in the very first ICF Fusion Power Plant, to provide a large boost in power generation capacity.

Premilinary tests indicate that four reactors will maintain an active ICF fusion reaction for 8 hours, while the other four recharge and reload new deterium - deterium fuel spheres.

Coal, oil, and natural gas power plants are now being retired, as Sharina plans on building fifteen more ICF fusion power plants within the next ten years.