energy and life on earth

**~~Silvercord~~** · 01-19-2003

What do you think will happen when the fossil fuels are all burned up? I think nuclear energy will be more utilized (sp?). as it is we have breeder reactors which synthesize potent radioactive isotopes as a by product (but breeder reactors were banned because it was thought bad guys would be able to get their hands on nuclear reactive materials too easily). we also have utilized fusion reactors (forcing hydrogen atoms together and using magnets to keep the heat away from the container, there's a fusion reactor in topomak or someplace like that) but we don't gain energy profit from that. anyway if we can successfully utilized nuclear energy from its fully potential, do you think humans will be able to survive without the sun? (assuming of course we are able to use at least some of the energy to blast away to other planets and find more reactable materials to continue getting energy). I think that humans will be able to survive without the sun if we don't get killed when it eats up the earth.

**adrianxw** · 01-19-2003

>>> there's a fusion reactor in topomak or someplace like that

"Tokamak" is the technology behind many of the worlds experimental fusion reactors. The JET reactor has produced more energy than it consumes in recent times. I believe it is only a matter of time before we have a reliable fusion generation capability. There is a load of stuff about JET and fusion here...

http://www.jet.efda.org/

>>> if we don't get killed when it eats up the earth.

Few years to go before that happens.

**face_master** · 01-19-2003

yeah, like 16 years.

**Jeremy G** · 01-19-2003

Originally posted by face_master
yeah, like 16 years.

fool-ishness.

Sorry, but the son has a long life to live yet.

**minesweeper** · 01-19-2003

>>do you think humans will be able to survive without the sun?<<

No. And it's got nothing to do with nuclear power. The sun provides energy for plants and trees via photosynthesis right down at the bottom of the food chain. If that disappears then everything dies.

**RoD** · 01-19-2003

The dark winter we would experience of the sun died is un-imaginable and surely not survivable(sp).

As far as n-energy, i don't worry about that at the moment, but rather the n-energy thats bound to be flying over our heads soon enough, in missle form...

**~~Silvercord~~** · 01-19-2003

Cool site Adrian, thanks. Seriously though that thing just looks really cool if anything else.

No. And it's got nothing to do with nuclear power. The sun provides energy for plants and trees via photosynthesis right down at the bottom of the food chain. If that disappears then everything dies.

I guess I can't really make a great argument here, but I'm going to try anyway. The sun is a big ball of hydrogen and helium constantly undergoing reactions and releasing energy in the form of light in the process. The light waves travel to earth, plants absorb it and use it to undergo photosynthesis.

Now my idea I'm about to say is going to sound pretty weird but here it goes: we could just take a bunch of fusionable material such as hydrogen, put it in a big thing in space and have react it so it will kind of act as a fake sun. There would be no particles flying around (because it would be a fusion reaction instead of a fission reaction) therefore the particles would be less likely to fly around breaking the container. We are already adapting some kind of technology to sustain fusion reactions, now we would only have to have a container that lets light pass through it viola we have a fake sun. This system could even end up being better because we could put a few of these fake suns around the earth so we can get tans from all directions!

I just thought of something, though, we would actually have to escape the Earth expanding and eating up the earth somehow. Wouldn't it turn into a black hole too?

EDIT: Don't you guys think it's cool that all of the energy of the UNIVERSE is innately stored in the charges of subatomic partcles? This is like the coolest thing!!! What's the hottest burning fuel you can legally buy btw?

**RoD** · 01-19-2003

>>EDIT: Don't you guys think it's cool that all of the energy of the UNIVERSE is innately stored in the charges of subatomic partcles? This is like the coolest thing!!! What's the hottest burning fuel you can legally buy btw?

In the U.S i THINK that would be nitromathane(sp), used in funny cars and such. I run Aviation fuel in my four wheelers but thats not nearly as potent.

**~~Silvercord~~** · 01-19-2003

In the U.S i THINK that would be nitromathane(sp), used in funny cars and such. I run Aviation fuel in my four wheelers but thats not nearly as potent.

lmao I want to try that in my atv! What do you have for a 4 wheeler? I've got an artctic cat 300 4x, it's a 1999 I believe and it has about 1,000 miles. You can legally (and safely) run aviation grade fuel in domestic vehicles? Thats cool!

**Travis Dane** · 01-19-2003

By the time whe've exausted our feuls at earth, whe'll be able to
colonize other planets and harvest them.

As for the sun, it'll stay around for the next million years?

**RoD** · 01-19-2003

>>As for the sun, it'll stay around for the next million years?

I think so, as long as its around while i'm alive i can deal...

**adrianxw** · 01-19-2003

>>> Wouldn't it turn into a black hole too?

A typical main sequence star like the sun does not have enough mass to become a black hole. As the suns Hydrogen fuel becomes used up, a number of other fusion reactions start. Fusion of nuclei up to atomic number 26, (Iron), are exothermic, i.e. they give out energy. Reactions with heavier nuclei absorb energy to make them go. The sun will evolve into a red giant, it's mass does not increase, but it's diameter will, and yes, in all probablility, it will engulf the Earth. As the fusion reactions finally wear out, the sun will shed it's outer layers forming a planetary nebula, the centre collapses and will become a white dwarf, which over a long period will eventually cool to become a dead, black dwarf.

Here is a picture of a planetary nebula - that site is well worth browsing if you like astronomical pictures.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990321.html

**face_master** · 01-19-2003

>> What's the hottest burning fuel you can legally buy btw?

I dont know but the most flamable substance is liquid cement. But I like shellite. That stuff is so cool. Booya!

**RoD** · 01-19-2003

Originally posted by Silvercord
lmao I want to try that in my atv! What do you have for a 4 wheeler? I've got an artctic cat 300 4x, it's a 1999 I believe and it has about 1,000 miles. You can legally (and safely) run aviation grade fuel in domestic vehicles? Thats cool!

I have several, actually. My two race bikes:

1999 Yamaha Blaster
2001 Yamaha Banshee

My jumping/freestyle bike:

2000 Honda 400EX

You can run aviation fuel in them, but it requires a few modifications. The oil injection has to go, as you can't trust it. Better pistons/rings, new carb jets, better air cleaner, etc.

Avi fuel here is about 20.00 a gallon and my race bikes, on average, run about 20 or 30 gallons of gas in a race, its not cheap. Its a huge payoff when your topend on a 55mph bike (stock blaster is 55mph) is now 125MPH without maxing it out.

I have alot of money and time into my bikes, its not like i just dumped avi in. You can, but you'll wreck your engine.

**~~Silvercord~~** · 01-19-2003

I have several, actually. My two race bikes:

1999 Yamaha Blaster
2001 Yamaha Banshee

My jumping/freestyle bike:

2000 Honda 400EX

you suck, lol! Seriously though, those are cool machines

Here is a picture of a planetary nebula - that site is well worth browsing if you like astronomical pictures.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990321.html

whooooooa, that's pretty cool stuff!

I don't see how the sun can stay reacting for so many years, it's mind boggling how much 'stuff' is there to continue the reactions. I still like my fake sun idea

Maybe we could even move to pluto or mars or some other solar system using nuclear energy to keep us alive, and make bread!

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