power crisis

fusion is the colliding of two atoms to form a single heavier atom. it is usually done with light molecules such as hydrogen, which preduces dutrium. Which is not radioactive.

 

My bad, deutrium is one of the reagents.



Tritrium, is a beta emitter with a half life of just over 12 years, however it is one of the reagents in the reaction, not a product. The products are helium and a neutron, neither of which are radioactive.

 

well the neutron isn't much good for anything, but it's harmless. And for your information, that equation is not impossible, that is what happens in the sun.

 

umm ethanol hasn't had anything to do with consumer goods, it's not even widely used as fuel. And I don't recall anything being said about what ethanol offers, other than its better than petrol.

 

pretty much, apart from a vague possibility of the reaction getting out of control, not that we'd be worrying about it if it did.

 

meltdowns can't happen with fusion. A meltdown is when a fission reaction gets out of control, the pressure inside the reaction chamber increases to the point where it explodes.

with fusion, you are dealing with superheated plasma at millions of degrees Kelvin, there are few materials on this earth that can withstand direct contact with such temperatures. Thus, and this is where it sounds like a sci-fi film, the plasma must be contained using forcefields. With a big enough mass (i.e the size of jupiter) gravity could be used instead. Should the reaction get out of control, slightly weakening the forcefields would release some of the pressure.

 

pressure is what causes an explosion. Releasing some of the pressure would prevent that.