Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael
Yes, but that means COLD fusion and that has been elusive.
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Not necessarily. There have been impressive strides in the direction of hot fusion, which is much cleaner than fission. Of course, depending on the type of fusion, it may not be entirely clean. If you use Deuterium-Tritium fusion, the result of the reaction is Helium and a neutron. These stray neutrons will embed themselves in whatever atom they come across, usually creating unstable isotopes. In the case of a D-T reactor, the plasma toroid and its shielding generally becomes dangerously radioactive within 5 - 25 years, depending on which expert you listen to. However, overall radioactive waste is still less than a tenth as much as a fission reactor produces, and none of it the high-grade waste that lasts tens of thousands of years. The waste from a D-T reactor would remain radioactive for 50 - 500 years.
Now, a Deuterium-Deuterium reactor would generate no dangerous waste at all as the end product is simply Helium-4. D-D fusion is the ultimate goal of fusion research, but it is known to require much higher temperatures and pressures than are needed for a D-T reactor. D-T fusion reactors are plausible within twenty years; D-D reactors are a possibility within a century or two.
Just some factoids. Sorry for no sources, this is simply things that I've picked up and kept in my store of somewhat useless information. Look it up yourself if you want--I bet you I'm 90% accurate.