# Could this be a way to harness fusion energy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327 "2009-09-08T20:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/1 "2009-09-08T20:09:31Z")
This is a bit far fetched but… imagine a giant steel container. A hollow sphere, say 5 miles in circumference filled with water. In the center you set of an H-Bomb. The H bomb vaporizes the water and now you have a giant sphere with steam at very high pressure. Then release the steam to power generators. I know there is no practical way to build a sphere to contain such an explosion. But say we had some type of exotic material that could. And the material was a good insulator so that the heated steam would not radiate the heat from the steam through the material as a metal would. Would using an H bomb to vaporise vast quantities of water to build a giant steam engine be a good energy source? Is there any way to calculate how many megawatts of energy could be obtained from a 1 megaton H bomb converting its heat energy to steam? ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/2 "2009-09-08T20:12:30Z")
the above was supposed to be a new topic. I messed up and posted as a reply. Not sure how the subject was changed. I’ll notify a mod to have it removed from this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/3 "2009-09-08T20:18:10Z")
Do you realize that the water would all be radioactive? You might as well stick to the current reactor models in use. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/4 "2009-09-08T20:21:52Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > the above was supposed to be a new topic. I messed up and posted as a reply. Not sure how the subject was changed. I’ll notify a mod to have it removed from this thread. I have split the posts into a new thread. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/5 "2009-09-08T20:24:06Z")
Edited for Mod monkeying and I get caught in it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/6 "2009-09-08T20:25:17Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > So then what’s this thread? > > [Could this work as a way to harness fusion as an energy source? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=531186) A hiccup. I have closed it and moved your post to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/7 "2009-09-08T20:28:42Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > Is there any way to calculate how many megawatts of energy could be obtained from a 1 megaton H bomb converting its heat energy to steam? From [here](http://online.unitconverterpro.com/conversion-tables/convert-group/factors.php?cat=energy&unit=26&val=kwh) 1 MT = 1.16 Billion KWH. A large power plant might be 1GW, so at 100% efficiency, your bomb will produce as much electricity as a power plant does in 48 days. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/8 "2009-09-08T20:28:49Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Edited for Mod monkeying and I get caught in it. I think we have entered some kind of quantum loop. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/9 "2009-09-08T20:29:58Z")
You’re looking at an optimum figure of 1,162,222,222 kilowatt-hours assuming 100% efficiency. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/10 "2009-09-08T20:37:53Z")
No. 1. While a nuclear explosion does create heat (point in fact, that’s largely all it creates, from what I can tell), it’s most likely going to be overkill. Attempting to superheat water past a certain point is pointless, and hence a waste of energy. Since the temperature is going to drop off as a ratio of the distance from the center of the blast, there’s no way to heat everything at optimal efficiency even if you make the blast material small enough to not be insane overkill. 2. The recharge time between blasts is going to be immense. If you want to automate the process, then essentially you’re talking about a nuclear-bomb powered internal combustion machine. In that case you’re rather go with existing technology and use pistons that are being directly pushed by the blast (maybe filling the chamber with something that is harder to vaporize than water). 3. Each blast is going to destroy a bunch of equipment (i.e. what turns the radioactive material into a bomb), which is adding extra cost on top of the cost of the nuclear material. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/11 "2009-09-08T20:43:41Z")
It’s been proposed before-- My memory is telling me by General Groves, who never found a use for nukes that he didn’t like. But I can’t remember enough details to Google on. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/12 "2009-09-08T21:03:46Z")
Let’s imagine that we had imaginary material that would be used with imaginary technology to handle imaginary engineering in an imaginary process. Would this have practical uses? Eight-ball answers “hazy.” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/13 "2009-09-08T21:16:59Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > If you want to automate the process, then essentially you’re talking about a nuclear-bomb powered internal combustion machine. I think those all got traded in during Cash for Clunkers. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/14 "2009-09-08T21:42:23Z")
In a mad-scientist way, this is entirely do-able. In a very mad-scientist sort of way. The trick is to have two huge chambers and the blast pushes the water from one to the other, through turbines. Then you detonate a nuke in the second chamber and push the water back through another turbine. Much like pistons, really. But this would be very inefficient. Not only in the process itself, but it requires a vast amount of energy to create the H-bomb in the first place. And fissionable material is rare and expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/15 "2009-09-08T21:53:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I think we have entered some kind of quantum loop. 🙂 We’re still in it. See post #15. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/16 "2009-09-08T22:10:37Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > We’re still in it. See post #15. Heh! Now YOUR post is #15. I moved the mispost by **Markxxx** to the correct thread. **samclem** Moderator, General Questions ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/17 "2009-09-08T22:31:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s been proposed before-- My memory is telling me by General Groves, who never found a use for nukes that he didn’t like. But I can’t remember enough details to Google on. I too have a vague memory of reading about this somewhere, except I was thinking it was Edward Teller who proposed it. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/18 "2009-09-08T22:38:54Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And fissionable material is rare and expensive. Fusionable. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/19 "2009-09-08T23:10:12Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Heh! Now YOUR post is #15. I moved the mispost by **Markxxx** to the correct thread. > > **samclem** Moderator, General Questions Dang. Now my cat is dead. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327/20 "2009-09-09T06:26:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Fusionable. Tritium is not particularly rare but is expensive. But I did mean fissionable, not fusionable. You need a fission bomb as the initiator for a fusion bomb. U-235 is very rare indeed, and is expensive to separate from the more common U-238, and you need a nuclear reactor to produce Plutonium. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-be-a-way-to-harness-fusion-energy/509327.md?page=2)