#16,191 in Books
Use arrows to jump to the previous/next product

Reddit mentions of Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking

Sentiment score: 2
Reddit mentions: 4

We found 4 Reddit mentions of Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking. Here are the top ones.

Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking
Buying options
View on Amazon.com
or
Specs:
Height8.54 Inches
Length5.78 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateOctober 2008
Weight1 Pounds
Width1.1 Inches

idea-bulb Interested in what Redditors like? Check out our Shuffle feature

Shuffle: random products popular on Reddit

Found 4 comments on Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking:

u/Capn_Underpants · 2 pointsr/collapse

> Fusion - how long has that been five or ten years away for now?

This is a great read on the histry and bullshit of fusion

That is not to say we shouldn't research but it is not a savior.

u/robertsteinhaus · 2 pointsr/Physics

Fun/informative books:


[A Piece of the Sun: The Quest for Fusion Energy: By Daniel Clery] (https://www.amazon.com/Piece-Sun-Quest-Fusion-Energy/dp/1468308890)

[Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking by Charles Seife] (https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Bottle-Strange-History-Thinking/dp/0670020338)

[An Indispensable Truth - How Fusion Power Can Save the Planet, by F.F. Chen] (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781441978196)

[A Green Sun by Charles Gray] (https://www.amazon.com/Green-Sun-The-Fusion-Book-ebook/dp/B005GBPEAE)
-------------
Technical books:

[Physics of Fully Ionized Gases by Lyman Spitzer Jr.] (https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Fully-Ionized-Gases-Revised/dp/0486449823)

[The Physics of Inertial Fusion: Beam Plasma Interaction, Stefano Atzeni] (https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Inertial-Fusion-Hydrodynamics-International/dp/0199568014)

[Tokamaks by Wesson] (https://books.google.com/books/about/Tokamaks.html?id=BH9vx-iDI74C)

[The Release of Thermonuclear Energy by Inertial Confinement: Ways Towards Ignition by Friedwardt Winterberg] (https://www.amazon.com/Release-Thermonuclear-Energy-Inertial-Confinement/dp/9814295906/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473696256&sr=1-1&keywords=winterberg+inertial+confinement)
Note: This last book by F. Winterberg contains some of the most difficult mathematics (perhaps something that a Junior in Math might not mind) but contains an extraordinary wealth of new fusion ideas - something that old guard fusioneers would like to see in the hands of the young.
---------
Mathematics is the portal to advanced skills in fusion physics and nuclear engineering. It is not really possible to find a professional first position in the fusion field without a high level of mathematics competency.

For those that have already had two years of college calculus I would recommend the following book if you are interested in a career in fusion.

[Higher Math for Beginners by Y.B. Zeldovich] (https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Mathematics-Beginners-application-physics/dp/B000IW9YSO/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473696949&sr=1-2&keywords=Higher+for+Beginners+Zeldovich)
----------
Student Internship at the Nation’s National Labs
You get paid while you learn lots of terrific fusion related stuff and there is an avenue leading to a first job in the field of your choice (something everyone needs).
http://see.orau.org/ProgramDescription.aspx?Program=10055
https://internships.llnl.gov/
http://www.lanl.gov/education/undergrad/internships.shtml
http://science.energy.gov/wdts/suli/
-------
NIF Laser Fusion in Fulldome -true out of this world new technology
(note: this high-rez image is interactive - click on picture and drag with your mouse to see additional views of the NIF target chamber)
http://www.xrez.com/case-studies/nif-laser-fusion-in-fulldome/
------
Fusion is a lot closer than most of the main stream analysts currently believe.
Fusion from the engineering side perhaps does not get as much publicity, but many fusion jobs in funded projects have a lot of engineering content. It may actually be easier to get your first position if you have a math or engineering focus (only so many physics professionals get hired, even in really large fusion programs).


u/Cojones893 · 2 pointsr/todayilearned

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Bottle-Strange-History-Thinking/dp/0670020338

Is a good book to start with. The general idea is that we always think we are close. That a bit more money would solve any current problems. Bigger reactors tend to just have bigger problems.

That being said we may actually be close for the first time in history. DEMO seems like it will be the first reactor to work and it's slated to start running in 2033.

u/Vailhem · 1 pointr/energy

ok, on the power-out:power-in, I didn't realize it was even a thought that they were planning on producing more than they consume (at any point, obv not overall... it being a research project). But, even with that, I still doubt it can ever be made to be economical. The neutron buildup will always be a problem, and even if it can be solved (unlikely), it will require materials that will make the whole thing too expensive, and those material (technologies) will just as capably be applied other sectors as well... solar, nuclear (fission), as well as just efficiency and various different technologies across the board, not just energy specific.

I just don't ever see the EROEI ever being net positive... they'll have to shut the thing down too often, it has too many parts that will break and need to be replaced... its just an overly complex cluster-fuck of a design that has great scientific merit and contribution but for the intended goal of energy generation is a horrible mis-allocation of capital. I debate (as I've read others much more versed and embedded in the industry as well) that the reason for it is to tie up that capital and resources (how many great minds are working on it?) so as to not direct it towards more fruitful and more quickly deployable ventures. I am not impressed. If nothing else, they should at least focus on aneutronic materials.

I'm not pushing for (though I must argue that the technology does make a lot of sense) thorium, but it, and even solar for that matter (or geothermal or... lots of technologies) make the idea of energy scarcity a moot deal... which is one of the things fusion pretty much clears up... at least of the ITER design. There is no fuel limitation, thus, once it can be figured out from an engineering aspect, the energy (resource) scarcity issue becomes moot. But these (solar, thorium, geothermal) and other technologies render the same 'problem' moot as well.... outside of that, what fusion allows is an energy density solution but... for what application? Are these things really going to be loaded onto submarines, ships, and various other energy dense needing applications... or hoisted up into space to power some sort of fusion-based propulsion system? Is that whats really the limitation for such ventures? Nuclear seems more than capable of filling this role today, yet its not density that's holding it back but policy. Can you imagine the complexity of these things? I'm not talking a Popular Science diagram or a HowStuffWorks.com description, but the true inner workings of these things? They're so complex it doesn't even seem worth it to begin with. What are the real benefits of fusion on an end-product approach? (moving the scientific exploration argument aside ... which I'm all for scientific exploration (just look at my posting-history to see that I see a definite need for this) but there are various science 'projects' that are losing out because of the allocation of capital/resources to this one... it is almost a net-negative to progress for humanity from a scientific perspective).

Let me move to your Bussard/polywell design... I'd read a bit here and there, usually just side-comments relative to the drawbacks of the Polywell design, most notably that it had a very poor or minimal efficiency on energy returned/produced... I'm not plugging its design anymore than I am backyard windmills for example, but that it didn't scale very well was something he even talked about in his google-talk. The max they could ever be is 15m across (I believe him saying), but at that, they could just roll off an assembly line and stacked together. I mean, even windmills and coal power plants have multiple reactors/turbines and just run them in unison as opposed to making huge ones. It almost seems easier to maintenance... to a point. But the fact that they scale-down so well is almost as much a benefit as it is a problem. Could ITER or D-T based fusion be designed to be engineered mass-production style and shipped around the world in shipping containers only to be reassembled IKEA-style? Solar panels can, windmills practically can, Hyperion reactors can... etc etc.

I'm not arguing against the necessity for scientific advancement, I'm not even arguing that it may possibly work, and that in (possibly) working, it won't change the fundamental economic basis structure for the planet... unlimited clean energy will definitely change things, I'm arguing for the mis-allocation of capital, resources, and intelligence vs other ventures and investments that could produce much greater results, much sooner, and with much less. I read (and recommend for a quick crack-like read) Charles Seife's "Sun in a Bottle" in a few hours back in the early spring and he, even in his magazine-article level of depth sort of way, made a decent argument outlining the same point. If not, he did a pretty thorough job covering the history and overall industry investment behind the ITER design. (forgot where I was going with that, more just a quick-read recommendation).

Point is, quick fix, fusion, or not... it just costs way too much money, has way too much talent tied up into it, and the end result is great, but ultimately not necessarily the most efficient path to essentially the same result (vs others).