Shubedobedubopbopbedo wrote:a fusion reactor that uses H-bombs would work. One helluva engineering project that would be.
AFAIK none of the nuclear weapons in the world currently are fusion-based. They are all fission-based and relatively low-yield, though each still powerful enough to wipe out a small city. As such, there would be no point in using the current stockpile of nukes for energy production in the aforementioned context, except insofar as they might be modified for use in conventional nuclear reactors, or as 1st stage fuzes of future fusion bombs.
In all the years of the cold war the US produced something like 15500 fusion-based weapons (now all retired). The sum of their yields was approx 2.4 x 10^20 Joules.
This is calorifically equivalent to 5,714,285,714 tonnes of oil. That's only 6.46-times the US oil comsumption, or 2.5-times the US total primary energy consumption, in 2008 (source: BP).
Modern powerplants can convert this to electricity with avg. 37.7% efficiency, but perhaps up to 60% efficiency with the most advanced turbine designs.
Assuming controlled fusion reactors are impossible, then the only alternative would be a subterranean (or equivalent) containment vessel used to extract thermal energy from fusion bomb detonations, with up to 37.7% efficiency using modern power generation systems. Note however that it took decades to produce this many fusion weapons.
I don't see the point actually.
The future forecast is for low-energy consumption, though probably not lower than what we can scrape together with wind, hydro, and solar thermal turbines. There may be some biofuel in the mix too.
Basically there are too many people to spread the wealth sustainably, so population control is inevitable.
AGW fanatics want carbon emission quotas... why not childbirth quotas. The world population could be reduced hugely without jumping any technological hurdles AND DOING NO HARM in less than 3 generations - just in time for when energy shortages start becoming a real problem. Energy consumption is a "per capita" phenomenon, it rises inexorably with population. When it cannot rise any further, it results in poverty, deprivation & suffering.