Interesting Times

[jiho]

There's always been cross-ownership between car and oil companies.

Edit: "There's always been cross-ownership between car and oil companies and government."

 

[Ugly1]

There's always been cross-ownership between car and oil companies. So how is it they're on opposite sides now? They aren't, really. As long as everyone obsesses with EVs, oil company profits are a safe bet.

You already have BP putting in charger stations at their gas stations.

 

[jiho]

Looking around, I see where some refinery conversions are supposedly under way to make biofuels, most of them to make biodiesel. I see where Shell also plans to make some biojet.

What I don't see is where any of them involve any plans to make any biofuel to replace gasoline.

Or to replace natural gas, come to think of it.

 

[jiho]

a lot of work is being done - including nuclear fusion

You bet it is, any century now ....

 

[GP403]

You bet it is, any century now ....

Nuclear Fusion Energy Breakthrough: Ignition Confirmed in Record 1.3 Megajoule Shot

After decades of inertial confinement fusion research, a yield of more than 1.3 megajoules (MJ) was achieved for the first time on August 8, 2021. This put scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the threshold of fusion gain and achieved sc

scitechdaily.com

probably this one... maybe. hell idk when but there is actual progress being made.

 

[86LK]

if they can get fusion safely going, then it will only be a matter of years. note that the issue is not whether they can get it going; the issue is safely, effectively, and cheaply enough. years ago, they got a USAF plane to fly with a nuclear reactor on board. after consideration, they cancelled the project.

Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Supercharged111]

if they can get fusion safely going, then it will only be a matter of years. note that the issue is not whether they can get it going; the issue is safely, effectively, and cheaply enough. years ago, they got a USAF plane to fly with a nuclear reactor on board. after consideration, they cancelled the project.

Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Something something Starfish Prime?

 

[Ugly1]

When old is new again! methane power

 

[jiho]

there is actual progress being made

The "breakthrough" was on the order of a billionth of a second -- hardly a sustained reaction -- and the researchers DON'T KNOW WHY even that much happened, have been UNABLE TO REPRODUCE it since and DON'T HAVE A CLUE why.

I don't call that actual progress.

EDIT: It was actually 100 trillionths of a second. And they didn't meet the accepted definition of "ignition," only their own in-house definition. Since then they haven't met their own definition.

As you know, the problem with fusion is to produce more energy than is consumed to produce it. Don't hold your breath.

 

[Hurricane77]

The "breakthrough" was on the order of a billionth of a second -- hardly a sustained reaction -- and the researchers DON'T KNOW WHY even that much happened, have been UNABLE TO REPRODUCE it since and DON'T HAVE A CLUE why.

I don't call that actual progress.

EDIT: It was actually 100 trillionths of a second. And they didn't meet the accepted definition of "ignition," only their own in-house definition. Since then they haven't met their own definition.

As you know, the problem with fusion is to produce more energy than is consumed to produce it. Don't hold your breath.

Korean's have achieved a sustained reaction with temps of 100 million degrees for 20 seconds recently. China (if you can/want to believe them) have claimed a reaction of 70 million degrees for 20 minutes.

It's still many many years away. Getting something working under very controlled lab conditions is one thing. Commercialization is something else completely. Much like all the new battery tech 'breakthroughs'. Lab conditions are one thing, mass production is something else entirely.