Submitted by tiny9000 t3_10ozzqp in singularity
tiny9000 OP t1_j6i0v6n wrote
Reply to comment by IncredibleWaddleDee in How long till we enter the age of abundance? by tiny9000
in terms of energy generation, we are not far away from achieving commercial nuclear fusion and there’s plenty of nuclear fission power plants we can build. Fossil fuels are not the end all be all
IncredibleWaddleDee t1_j6i5yiq wrote
How... To cause ignition in fusion facilities we need an enormous facility with tools that measure many soccer fields. In what world in the current era do you see it feasible that gathering all the materials needed + starting the process of ignition + capturing enough energy + maintenance = more energy output than energy input. Fusion relies heavily (very heavily) on fossile fuels right now. And it requires a lot of mineral resources that are in a process of rarification.
In what world is it possible to have more energy out than in? Maybe in the far far future but right now?? And even then, maybe you could create one or two functioning facilities in this century in North America or in Europe. Let's say we were to develop a functional energy-producing facility that outputs more usable (for us) energy than it inputs... How do you see the scaling of this as realistic? By then we probably would be in worldwide shortages of fossil fuels (affecting food supplies and everything related to growth) and we would be facing shortages in critical mineral resources...
Unless you tell me that we are gonna have mastery over recycling of minerals (which feels very unrealistic) we are facing a wall with this solution. Like maybe a few cities might have a power grid supported by fusion but I cannot fathom an upcoming world powered by it...
EDIT : grammar
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