Source: “India TV” via Dailyhunt
I’m not a scientist and I know nothing about nuclear fusion technology. But as I read this article below I can say I’m happy for the scientific community when they celebrate their moment of achievement. They say an important milestone has been reached in fusion technology research … it’s going to have tremendous implications for global energy and security needs .
At the heart of the breakthrough research-finding , the scientists say, is the creation of plasma helium gas produced from compressing atoms of hydrogen under conditions of heat that’s several times higher than the heat of the sun … That plasma gas is going to be potentially a massive great energy-supply source for all mankind in a brave new world !
Now by itself it sounds indeed very very exciting and incredible that man has the ability today to create heat conditions exceeding that of the sun to produce carbon-emissions free energy. But strangely this news report does not tell you anything about how the scientists did produce such heat conditions in the first place in the laboratory… I.e. how much energy was needed to generate such super-solar heat and what was the type of fuel that was used to ignite the heat and keep it maintained at such extremely high temperatures.
If this breakthrough technology in fusion energy generation is going to fundamentally alter the way energy is produced in the world , it’s important to know also what are the risks inherent in generating here on earth heat conditions several times higher than the heat of the sun. Will such heat pose a threat to the environment ? Will an accidental disaster occurring during the production of supra-solar heat conditions at a complex or facility be as catastrophic as one in a nuclear reactor as we know only too well from the experience of Chernobyl and Fukushima ?
The philosophical question to ask is this : is this new avant garde fusion-energy technology truly safe for mankind? Is it really wise to produce energy through this scientifically radical means without knowing fully its potential to do both good and bad? Is the scientific effort to outdo the Sun in creating heat on planet earth yet another clear sign of human hubris?
For nearly a century after fossil fuel refining has become the chief source of cheap energy for mankind, we are now discovering and experiencing its devastating impact on climate-change and the ecological degradation it is causing all around us. This new breakthrough fusion-energy technology is being touted as being carbon-free … but does that alone make it worth pursuing ? What might it’s other unintended environmental impact be one hundred years from today? Who knows and who can tell?
Nuclear technology as we all know can produce so-called “clean energy” but then it also has the potential to be turned into a weapon of mass destruction, WMD . So what about this new fusion energy technology? Could Man wanting to play the great Sun God — by meddling with the cosmic force of Heat or Thermodynamics and trying to outdo him on planet earth — turn out to be ultimately playing with fire? Could this great new fusion energy be potentially as much a self-destructive and insane weapon in its hands as we know nuclear technology is ? What then will be geopolitical ramifications for a future world when the present one is already riven by threats of nuclear aggression today ?
Frightening thoughts indeed for all mankind to ponder over ! I fear far too much of mankind’s faith is being reposed in the over-exuberant discoveries of scientists than in the sober wisdom of philosophers .
Sudarshan Madabushi