Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time since Fukushima

Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by krisoft on Monday March 28, 2022 @12:25PM (#30832227)

> It's about as renewable as solar, which is to say, we will eventually run out - but at that point the heat death of the universe is a more pressing concern.

Nitpicking:

The sun is expected to stop fusing helium in about 8x10^9 years [1]. The heat death will occur in around 1.7x10^106 years [2]. (if at all, there are some uncertainties around that)

Which means that while they are both far, the heat death as predicted is much much further than the other. In short, the heat death of the universe won't be a pressing concern at all when we run out of solar.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_dwarf#Future_of_the_Sun 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_timeline_from_Big_Ba...

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by Aeolun on Monday March 28, 2022 @12:29PM (#30832274)

It’s oddly reassuring to know that we’ll actually have some time to stay a spacefaring civilization after the sun runs out.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by deadbeeves on Monday March 28, 2022 @02:06PM (#30833584)

I remember reading some time ago that after the Sun runs out there's only enough energy in a state fit for fusion for like one or two more generations of stars in the universe, and after that the universe will go dark forever.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by dysfunction on Monday March 28, 2022 @02:55PM (#30834171)

That may be true, but it's worth noting that the length of a "generation" of stars varies wildly depending on the type of star. Stars like our Sun might only live 10 billion years or so, but red dwarfs live 100 billion years or more so we could presumably live around them long after all the Sun-like stars have burned out.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by matthewdgreen on Monday March 28, 2022 @04:41PM (#30835300)

Can't we dump matter into black holes to draw things out for a while even after that?

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by deadbeeves on Monday March 28, 2022 @06:23PM (#30836333)

From where are you getting the energy to do that?

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by matthewdgreen on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @03:26PM (#30847207)

If you have a bunch of matter (dead stars, planets, interstellar dust) is there some fundamental reason this can't be dumped into accretion disks, etc. in an energy-positive way?

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by Smithalicious on Monday March 28, 2022 @01:00PM (#30832702)

I wonder, does the sun /have/ to run out? Could we find a bunch more hydrogen from outside the solar system and dump it into the sun to recharge it?

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by zozbot234 on Monday March 28, 2022 @01:27PM (#30833066)

Proper management of star lifetime actually requires the opposite approach: subtract mass from the star, so that the star "core" where actual fusion happens can steadily mix with a larger fraction of the remaining mass. The harvested mass can then be stored away as gas-giant planets, and used for miscellaneous purposes.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by Teever on Monday March 28, 2022 @02:57PM (#30834202)

This is fascinating. Do you have any recommendations for sources so I can learn more about megascale engineering projects to maximize the life of a star?

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by Jerrrry on Monday March 28, 2022 @05:33PM (#30835887)

warning: Isaac Arthur is like crack to sci-fi/intellectuals.

binge at your own risk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzuHxL5FD5U

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by throwntoday on Monday March 28, 2022 @01:13PM (#30832879)

Assuming we possesed that capability it seems like it would be simplet to build a dyson sphere around another star and setup shop on a nearby planet.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by infogulch on Monday March 28, 2022 @01:15PM (#30832906)

Stars fail when the elements in their cores stop releasing net energy when fused. This crossover occurs at iron. Adding more mass will just make it's death more violent.

Also the sun contains 99% of the mass of the solar system. The remaining 1% includes Jupiter. I'm not sure how much effect we can have when only leveraging 1% of 1% of the solar systems mass.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by Out_of_Characte on Monday March 28, 2022 @01:55PM (#30833451)

I also wonder how one removes mass from the sun. Its the biggest gravity well in the solar system and our biggest power source is the sun itself.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by Akronymus on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @07:26AM (#30841182)

Star lifting seems plausible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzuHxL5FD5U

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by varajelle on Monday March 28, 2022 @03:44PM (#30834715)

Transform the mass into energy, and radiate it.

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Re:Majority in Japan backs nuclear power for first time sinc... by stjohnswarts on Monday March 28, 2022 @03:56PM (#30834853)

I suspect human will have LONG since destroyed themselves by the time the sun dies, probably before we're spacefaring and out of the solar system.

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