Tokamak Tortoise and Nuclear Fission Hare

[Rezwan]

I was thinking of ways to put fusion in context with other energy approaches. Also of putting Focus Fusion (DPF + pB11) in context with ITER and the like.

Also, thinking about nuclear hares, as you see from this tweet:

RT @nuclearmuseum: Radioactive jackalopes, I mean jack rabbits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADbhxRFezYM&feature=related

At which point, the following images came, and if someone has wicked animation skills, this could be really neat.

The energy race is a tortoise and hare race.

As you recall the legend of the tortoise and hare, there’s a race which the hare expects to win, he ridicules the challenging tortoise, but the tortoise does, indeed, win. The meaning of the story varies depending on who is telling it and how they tell it. I say it’s time to have a fusion v. other energy sources anthropomorphized as animals race story.

No one thinks Tokamak Tortoise (MFE fusion) (yes, there’s a reason I start with tokamak) can possibly win against the various hares (quick to ignite Brer Fossil Fuels, quick to fizz flopsy fission-tale, fair-weather friend sunshine solar, wiley wind…)

So the creatures (designed to look both like hares and the energy source they embody) set off, spectators cheering and betting in the sidelines. Sports announcers announcing.

Furthest from us, we see tokamak tortoise lumber along, shell shaped like a torus, plasmas inside.

The announcers chatter over the action, using classic announcer speak, saying what the chances are that such a creature could even get to the finish line.

The announcers dismiss TT with a few scathing remarks and go to the main contender fossilfuel hare in the lead, but oooh! He’s belching gas and leaking all over the pond, and what’s this…he’s running out of steam – cut to interview with bitter coach saying that fossil shouldn’t be disqualified and GHG drug tests are bogus, and she’s a stable race animal, you can count on her, and salary disputes and cartels be darned, and so forth…and all the new training that will focus on sequestration and such (e.g., present the energy problems as a training/sports candidate optimization issue)

Sunshine solar – also trailing – oops, here comes a cloud, she’s down for a nap. Oops, look at all those materials. Oops, no batteries to hold the extra energy. Cut to interview with coach saying all the things that need to happen for her to win the race.

Wiley Windy, oops, the wind stopped. She’s frozen…and WHOA, another rush – she’s off, but wait…she needs more incentives, higher taxes and is getting kicked off certain areas so Kennedy’s views are intact …

flopsy fission-tale, there’s her coach downplaying the radioactive problem (our radioactive hare takes a “nuclear dump”) people chasing her out of their backyard.

Hmmm. They aren’t as nimble as we thought. Let’s go back to Tokamak Tortoise – hasn’t moved far, but her team is around her with lots of equipment, big housing, lots of prep. Say she’ll be ready to move in 20 years. Announcer says, apparently, if tokamak can get her act together, she’ll go forever and win the race and – Oh, wait, it’s not just one tortoise, there seems to be several of them, different species. There’s also this laser one, kind of a mutant ninja, with lots of weaponized capacity (NIF), and wait, coldfusion? Is that even a science? Disqualified! (that’s being appealed, fat chance) but wait..what’s this? Tokamak seems to be crushing a few other tortoises beneath her not letting them get any of the food from the trainers – stella-rator, and the sphero-Mac and a bunch of other ICCs – announcers are puzzled, they never heard of these guys…

And what’s that up ahead of the tortoise pack – a dpf? What the heck’s a dpf – on aneutronic fuel? Is that even allowed? Come on – one year? I doubt it! But look at ’em go. Could these tortoises turn the racing world upside down?

We don’t show the end of the race. We leave it as a cliff-hanger. Does the tortoise win? Does DPF succeed? Can bio-fuel get its act together in time? etc.

The goal here is to leverage mythology and sports to clarify energy approach pros and cons and to help differentiate them, and especially to differentiate the different types of fusion. To inspire people to approach the energy problem as a race, with all the training, due diligence, discipline and fun and enthusiasm that such things inspire.

The concepts we want to convey here:
1) There are many problematic issues facing each energy candidate
2) Figuring out fusion is a long term strategy which is necessary in light of the shortcomings of short term candidates.
3) There’s more species diversity of tortoises (more types of fusion) than you knew about. There are several races going on here.

[Aeronaut]

Wow! That’s going to be memorable for a lot of reasons, all good. Another way to frame the same story is as a reality show.

[Breakable]

The unreliability of renewable’s results in increased cost to address this issue.
Basically the most important part in energy is the cost and reliability can be factored into that (high reliability = no cost to address this issue).

[Rezwan]

Here’s a tortoise checking out our website.

Also, FYI, I posted this story idea on hitrecord.org – that seems to be a superb collaboration space. At some point we will have the $ to configure our website for similar collaboration, ’til then, that might be a good site to play around in.

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