NASA To Mars in 30 Days

[Crixus]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/152845-nasa-funded-fusion-rocket-could-shoot-humans-to-mars-in-30-days

Are they actually close to making a fusion rocket or is this just fluff? What implications would this have for energy here on Earth?

[B5C]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/152845-nasa-funded-fusion-rocket-could-shoot-humans-to-mars-in-30-days

Are they actually close to making a fusion rocket or is this just fluff? What implications would this have for energy here on Earth?

It's not close and not fluff. When we harness fusion technology. We will be able to power nations for thousands and thousands of years and it's clean. It doesn't produce waste like fission does. The only waste we get is helium. The sun produces fusion by combining two hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei. When they combind it creates energy to light a star.

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[Crixus]

Yes I know :) I'm thinking as far as energy on earth, well, energy corporations are the big capitalists on the block. Would they allow their profits to simply vanish? Could fusion be patented? How would this work out in the property based market system? I would think whoever comes close to successful fusion would have an accident crossing the street courtesy of the trillionares in the energy business who largely run the political system, unless of course these same people can figure out a way to monopolize the fusion process.

[Domela Nieuwenhuis]

I think we are still pretty far from creating fusion-power and even further away from harnessing that power so we can use it for propulsion-usage.

I'm thinking in decades if not centuries.

[TheRedAnarchist23]

Somebody, call NoXion, he knows about this stuff!

[Domela Nieuwenhuis]

Somebody, call NoXion, he knows about this stuff!

Yo, NoXion! NoXion!!

[TheRedAnarchist23]

The only waste we get is helium. The sun produces fusion by combining two hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei. When they combind it creates energy to light a star.

Just nuclei? Do they have to remove the electrons?

[B5C]

Just nuclei? Do they have to remove the electrons?

No.

Basically without going back to chemistry class. Hydrogen has one electron. When you merge two Hydrogen together to form Helium. The two electrons don't go away, but just orbit the new helium.

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[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Somebody, call NoXion, he knows about this stuff!

Technically speaking, we could build a ship with a fusion drive today. Kind of.

It could go like this - although we don't yet know how to constantly sustain a fusion reaction as a means of thrust, we can build explosive devices (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon) that derive an appreciable portion of their energy from nuclear fusion. It would certainly be possible in engineering terms for us to build a Project Orion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_%28nuclear_propulsion%29)-style spacecraft propelled by thermonuclear devices.

But apart from that, fusion-powered space flight is something that will have to await further technological and engineering developments. Personally I suspect that we won't see any fusion rockets flying until there are commercial fusion reactors in operation.