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Nuclear fusion and renewable energy After the announcement made in February in England to have carried out a safe and clean nuclear fusion experiment by doubling the energy obtained previously and therefore with progress, obtaining in figurative terms the energy equivalent to boiling sixty liters of water, comes the news from a laboratory in California of a fusion reaction that has produced more energy than that used in this reaction that fuses two hydrogen atoms through lasers in a capsule. It is a chain reaction that is interrupted by turning off the lasers that simulates the energy process used by the Sun and the stars at very high temperatures without polluting (radioactive waste) and producing greenhouse gases, but before a power plant based on this technology is ready it will probably take decades so for the moment it is better to focus on renewable energy. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Dec 13, 2022 
n°: 5207
 Transition more sustainable to electric vehicles Electric vehicles require for their manufacture many metal parts and many components that must travel from all over the world before being assembled in a supply chain that is not sustainable for the environment, then some say that to extract rare earths from the soil by mining a large amount of climate-changing gases are released into the atmosphere that continue to feed a greenhouse effect that causes abnormal warming of the planet and devastating extreme effects. To power these electric vehicles energy from fossil fuels is often transformed instead of using clean energy from renewable sources; so in practice for example a car with an electric motor could have an overall environmental impact even worse than a traditional one with a combustion engine and in the case of hybrid ones it is necessary to take into account the greater weight of the vehicle due above all to the batteries. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Dec 12, 2022 n°: 5206 Considerations for CO2 capture plants Proposals to install large plants to capture and store carbon dioxide or CCS are multiplying, as is happening in Europe and lately in Indonesia, but some point out that this could simply be a way to avoid reducing polluting emissions, continuing to pollute with fossil fuels instead of switching to renewable energy (now also much cheaper than fossil fuels) while others say that it is an inevitable solution from take to avoid a further rapid worsening of the climate crisis. According to a Norwegian research it is estimated that the market for these plants could quadruple within the next three years and there is talk of storage mainly in liquid form even if it is not clear how much energy is needed for this process and what is the actual utility regarding global warming. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Nov 14, 2022 n°: 5182 Use of technologies not yet understood Quantum science is developing rapidly with the possibility of exploiting "exotic" characteristics such as the so-called entaglement that allows to transfer information (even small particles) from one point to another at a distance, but many experts admit that they do not fully understand the logic on which this new science is based; so the question remains whether it is appropriate to use something that is not well known. Quantum computers could follow the same path as the first expensive computers initially reserved for a few and then transformed into increasingly compact and cheap computers so that now any smartphone has great computing capabilities; needless to say this would completely pave the way for artificial intelligence potentially much superior to human intelligence. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Oct 05, 2022 n°: 5149 Energy supply problems in France After the lighting of some monuments in France was temporarily turned off to cope with the country's peaks in energy demand and concerns about how the available resources will be managed, the authorities would have said that there is no risk of a total blackout this winter although we expect to lower electricity consumption by a small percentage up to a maximum of fifteen percent, in a scenario of gas shortage and intense cold; then compared to other European countries apparently France would be structurally in less difficulty. The planned restart of nuclear power plants, half of which are stopped for maintenance due to corrosion of the reactors, will provide the energy needed to meet the demand (questions remain about whether all safety standards are respected). Only a few days of the so-called energy red alert are expected in which it will be essential to make savings. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Sep 15, 2022 n°: 5132 CO2 capture considerations A large CCS plant under construction off the Norwegian coast in cavities in the North Sea seabed will allow to capture in liquid form tons of carbon dioxide produced by Norway (the largest producer in the west Europe) and European factories; but some say that this initiative could allow fossil fuel companies a slower transition to renewable energy, then safety problems remain for example in the event of tidal waves. The CCS plants currently in operation in the world are few and there are cases of closure due to excessive economic costs and operating defects despite the large public funding allocated for their construction and maintenance. To be noted by changing the subject but remaining on technological issues the intention of France to reactivate the atomic reactors in maintenance for corrosion to cope with energy shortages. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Sep 05, 2022 n°: 5123 Damaged Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant International atomic energy inspectors sent to check the proper functioning of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the crosshairs of fighting in the conflict in Ukraine would have declared that it is damaged and are willing to remain in the plant to monitor it; in fact, even making a small mistake could have consequences for decades, then in the meantime one of the six reactors (unit five) of the large plant was shut down for emergency protection. Previously there was talk of a power line interrupted by the conflict and repaired before it could cause damage to the plant. As is well known atomic technology to obtain energy is very risky and a reactor cannot be turned off with a switch in addition to the difficulty of safely storing the waste produced by a plant that remains radioactive even for centuries. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Sep 02, 2022 n°: 5121 Solutions to cope with drought in the world There are many countries in the world struggling with the problems caused to crops by prolonged drought so much so that in China, for example clouds are "seeding" in order to cause rainfall, a technique defined as not very effective as well as perhaps producing chain reactions on the climate on a global scale that are difficult to predict; so better solutions should be found. Some say to recover the wastewater by purifying it especially in coastal areas that would end up in the sea, then could capture the humidity of the air with nets (or technological systems), a technique used in South America on foggy days that makes the drops of water fall into containers; then could use desalinators with renewable energy considering that they consume a lot of electricity and recovering the salt not dispersing in the environment. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Aug 23, 2022 n°: 5112 Quantum computers close to commercialization It might seem an advantage to have computers with computing capabilities that were once unthinkable, but the danger that machines could take the place of man is getting closer and closer and this is already partly the case with current technologies. In practice quantum computers to solve a complex calculation can exploit any electronic routes at the same time instead of having to travel a single route at a time with an exponential speed gain and therefore a calculation that would take nine thousand years with the most powerful supercomputer available with a quantum computer takes less than a second. In addition to using one and zero for calculations quantum computers also use the qubits, any value between zero and one (quite exotic concept) and therefore for example they can solve a very complex mathematical problem very quickly. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Aug 17, 2022 n°: 5107 Nuclear technology too dangerous International atomic energy control authorities say that it is difficult to ensure proper operation of the large Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine since the control of the plant is not entirely carried out by specific personnel. This consideration could in theory be applied to any atomic plant that is located in conflict areas highlighting how dangerous this technology based on the splitting of the atom is, without considering that the waste produced by the power plants constitutes a danger for centuries. Hiroshima in Japan commemorates the seventy-seventh anniversary of the release on the city of the first atomic bomb followed three days later by another bomb on the city of Nagasaki, with calls for disarmament in a historical moment that still sees the planet at risk of a global atomic conflict. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Aug 06, 2022 n°: 5099 Technology and publications * The author doesn't assume some kind of responsibility for the bad use of the articles councils (all rights are reserved) |
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