![]() ![]() We can use the experimentally measured masses of subatomic particles and common isotopes given in Table 20.1 to calculate the change in mass directly. This article was originally published with the title "Fusion’s False Promise" in Scientific American 328, 6, 83 (June 2023)ĭoi:10.\] ![]() This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American. It's not an answer to the climate crisis. But fusion is a long game that may or may not pay off. We should fund fusion research because even $1.1 billion is no more than it costs per year to maintain a single aircraft carrier. So why are we focusing on a speculative technology that will almost certainly come too late to make a meaningful contribution to avoiding climatic catastrophe?ĭon't get me wrong. federal government has invested heavily in fission and fusion nuclear power with only modest gains to show. But the pattern has persisted: between 19 the share of renewables was 18 percent.įor 75 years the U.S. In 1948 that apportioning made sense because fission and fusion seemed promising, and no one much saw the need for efficiency. According to the Congressional Research Service, from 1948 through 2018, 48 percent of federal energy R
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