3/6/08
Future Power
What will a world of cold fusion power be like? The cold fusion reaction generates heat. Lots of it, inexpensively and with no polluting by-products. Basically, we’ll be back to the steam engine. Which is fine for a return of the old Stanley Steamer cars, but not all that practical for today’s transportation needs.
It’s great for generating heat and, through steam driven generators, plenty of cheap electricity. We’ll probably be developing better liquids than water for our engines, and more efficient electrical generators. But, for instant starts, we’ll need batteries to get our cars going until the motor heat is high enough to take over.
Which put me in mind of the Takahashi capacitor patent (#5,429.790, July 4, 1995). This super-capacitor does the same as a battery, storing electricity. A few years ago I had the privilege of driving a Takahashi scooter, powered by his capacitor, all around a London suburb. Unlike a battery, a capacitor can be charged quickly, so cars and trucks wouldn’t have to be recharged for hours before they could be used. Zap, and you’re ready to go. For hours.
No more power grid, since every building could have it’s own cold fusion-powered heat and electrical generators. No more nuclear power plants needed. Whew! And, since we’re not moving electricity over long distances, we won’t need alternative current. Back to Edison’s old direct current.
Well, that’s fine for cars, trucks, and even trains, but I can’t grasp a way to have electrically-powered jet planes. So we may still need some chemical fuel, but nowhere near enough to be bothered having to import it. It’ll be fun to see those princes becoming paupers, sitting in their tents puffing on their hookahs instead of skiing on an indoor slope in Dubai.
How long will the oil industry be able to prevent cold fusion development? It doesn’t look like it’s going to take very many millions of dollars to get practical cold fusion units developed, but the developer better make sure it’s done in total secrecy. Big Oil isn’t going to take kindly to the threat of its death. Ditto the nuclear power industry.
It’ll be nice to be able to stop pretending to be friends with those Wahabi Saudis and to get the heck out of Iraq, leaving all that oil behind. Gee, it’ll put Iran out of business too. And Venezuela. Oil can go to a dollar a barrel and be used for lubrication and making plastic.