Initiating the reaction itself is accomplished by concentrating a bank of high-powered lasers on a pellet of the fuel to raise it to the required temperatures. The technology to keep the reaction going is, evidently, still inside that grail; and the scientists and engineers do not expect to produce a sustained controlled reaction until somewhere around the middle of this century.
Hydroelectric Generation
One of the cleanest forms of electrical generation is one of the oldest sources of power known to mankind. While it was originally used primarily for the generation of mechanical power, the concept, as used to generate electrical, power is very similar. That is, a flow of water turns a rotating device to generate power. For mechanical power it was a water wheel, for electrical power it is a turbine. Even this clean, renewable source has its disadvantages when employed on an industrial scale.
With this method, on industrial scales, the water is simply a medium through which the power of gravity is harnessed. The only natural sources for this type of power are waterfalls where gravity multiplies the force of the flowing water. Where waterfalls of sufficient size are unavailable, dams are used to back up the flow of water, raising its level and providing a sort of artificial waterfall to harness the energy.
The disadvantages of dams from an ecological as well as a safety standpoint have been debated for most of the past century and a half, with commercial interests normally prevailing. The placement of a dam in an existing channel will almost always result in habitat loss and displacement for species that lived along the watercourse and this is especially true for the sorts of dams required for large hydroelectric projects.
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