Re: this might usher in utopia

analyst41@xxxxxxxxxxx included:

> > > http://www.psi.ch/medien/Medienmitteilungen/mm_sonnenenergie/mm_sonnenenergie_e.html

> OK lets do the calcluation.
>
> ... lets take their
> low end of conversion efficiency = 30 pct.

That claim was inconsistent with the numbers that were given.
They used 300 kW of sunlight plus a large but unreported number of
kilowatts of carbon to get 61.3 kW of zinc.


> ... Look at the beauty part of this - Zinc is fairly abundant and making
> and transporting large amounts of it shouldn't be too environmentally
> taxing - as opposed to some of the exotic stuff other researchers are
> looking at.

But significantly more environmental impact due to transport
than with plain old boron/B2O3.

If zinc were the "lite" version of boron that would be good;
lightness is good in a fuel.

But in fact it's "boron hevy".

I suppose the "usher in utopia" business is aimed
at propping up ETH/PSI/zinc for a better shot.
Boron won't usher in utopia. Only octagonal houses
can really do that, IIRC.


--- Graham Cowan, former hydrogen fan
http://www.eagle.ca/~gcowan/Paper_for_11th_CHC.html --
boron: how individual mobility gains nuclear cachet
.