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Quote by: Scribbler1  Are you sure you're not thinking of COLD fusion? That's the tough one, but fusion power is doable. The problem with that is the containment vessels erode over a short span of years. It has something to do with excess neutrons beating on the walls. Apparently Helium3 does away with that problem. |
Fusion power is years away, if we in fact ever get it running.
"Even nuclear fusion’s staunchest advocates admit a power-producing fusion plant is still decades away at best, despite forty years of hard work and well over $20 billion spent on the research.
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But Porkolab concedes that a functioning power-producing fusion reactor is probably 50 years off, and that is too far in the future for any reasonable conclusions to be drawn on its economic viability."
No future for fusion power, says top scientist - fundamentals - 09 March 2006 - New Scientist
Much more info is here:
Fusion power - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Quote:
Quote by: Century 25 Also, any loads leaving the moon could be launched into lunar orbit via an electrically powered (solar maybe?) "railroad" that is built along a correctly sloping hill.. it only takes about 3,600 mph to depart the moon.. no big deal really.. especially since there is no atmosphere to contend with. It could even send a load to earth orbit. |
Yet getting usable amounts of any "loads" of lunar material back to earth will be difficult and expensive. Re-entry problems will only multiply when the mass of a vehicle is increased.
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Quote by: Century 25 As for fusion power.. yes.. fusion is the way to the future. The moon is a good place.. a very good place for developing advanced technologies. Low grav, nearly perfect vacuum.. probably water (ice) at poles.. or under the surface. With fusion technology.. the planets will be very much easier to reach, and speed is the key. With cheap & basically unlimited amounts of energy.. it will be a breeze. |
Sure, a breeze. Fusion power alone isn't going to make "the planets will be very much easier to reach" a viable statement. Also, "cheap & basically unlimited amounts of energy" on the moon isn't going to be much good for those of us on the earth.