Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
Defense Paper
For my genre product I created a representation of a passport. I
created this product to be a visual and conceptual replica of a real
passport except on a larger scale. When traveling between different
countries, a passport is required to gain access and cross the countrys
borders. The purpose of a passport is to show other nations that you
are a legal citizen of a particular nation. Essentially, a passport asks
other nations permission for you to cross into their borders and
become a part of their culture, even if it is temporary. Most passports
contain your photograph, name and birth date, along with your nation
of origin and a signature.
My inquiry path and synthesis paper discussed how we utilize
nuclear power by the process of nuclear fission to meet energy needs.
My genre product has continued with the same idea except more
focused on the future of nuclear power by means of nuclear fusion. I
themed my genre product based on a travel passport because of how
one must be used to travel to a new location outside of the nation you
reside in. In a real passport each page is used once for a specific
location of travel. In my genre product, I tried to design it a similar way
keeping the information every page either expanded from the previous
page or a whole new topic. When considering my intended audience, I

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
thought about myself and what I do while traveling; I do a lot of
reading. Thus, my passport is intended to educate and inform an adult
traveler.
I am a firm believer that humans are the direct cause of global
warming. As humans and for the sake of all things living, it is our
responsibility to find cleaner ways to produce energy and meet our
needs. The passport serves the conceptual purpose of the idea nuclear
fusion is the passport to our energy future. I believe nuclear fusion is
the passport to our energy future because it is going to get us where
we want to go in terms of energy production with low emissions. In
order to have an energy transition to new means of production and
travel to a future of a cleaner and more sustainable world, we are
going to need a passport to get us there!
With the increasing reliance on consumer technologies that
power modern day society, the rate at which we consumer energy is at
an all time high. (World Energy Consumption Since 1820 in Charts).
One of the main ideas I wanted to convey is that nuclear fusion is the
answer to the worldwide pollution problems. One source suggested the
greatest increase in demand for energy is foreseen to come from
developing countries. With rapid urbanization, large-scale electricity
generation will be required. With environmental requirements for low

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
carbon dioxide emissions, the need to invest in sustainable energy
sources must be developed. This is where fusion power comes into the
game.
Fusion is the process or result of joining two or more things
together to form a single entity. It is the same process that powers the
Sun and other stars. In chemistry, fusion is a nuclear reaction in which
two or more atomic nuclei come very close and then collide at a high
speed and join to form a new nucleus. For fusion to occur high
temperatures cause hydrogen gas to becomes a plasma (the fourth
state of matter) and the negatively charged electrons are completely
separated from the positively charged atomic nuclei. Fusion in the Sun
occurs at a temperature of 10-15 million degrees Celcius. At this
temperature hydrogen atoms compress into its isotopes (deuterium &
tritium) and fuse together creating helium and releasing energy.
(Freudenrich, Ph.D. Craig)
However, this process is a little different on Earth and has a few
problems. The first requirement is extremely high temperatures (150
-200 million degrees Celsius). No material whatsoever can withstand
this extreme of a temperature. The solution to this problem is a
process called magnetic confinement that involves using magnetic
fields to contain hot plasma in an annular space (Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
Craig.). Throughout my genre product images depict these processes
so the reader can gain a better understanding for what these devices
look like and also how they work. With that major issue resolved, in my
genre product, I sum up how electricity can be generated in about five
major steps.
1)

Plasma is placed inside a sealed stainless steel vacuum

2)

vessel that acts as a containment barrier.

Next, deuterium particles are shot into the plasma with
high-frequency electromagnetic waves and high-energy
helium nuclei, maintaining the extremely high

3)

temperature required for a fusion reaction.

Electrical currents circulate in the plasma and in coils
outside the vacuum vessel creating a magnetic field

4)

50,000 times stronger than the Earths.

Fusion releases neutrons to supply energy that is then

5)

captured.
Finally, the heat on the outside is then captured and
transferred. Similar to a nuclear fission power plant;
generating steam and producing electricity.

Skunk works, part of Lockheed Martins Advanced Development

Programs, is one of the companies leading in the development of
fusion technology, specifically compact fusion. Unlike other companies
fusion reactors, the skunk works reactor is compact and could fit on the

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
back of a truck. Measuring 7ft x 10 ft. Lockheed Martin claims that the
compact size has allowed engineers to develop the technology more
quickly. (Lockheed Martin Corp.) Photographs in my genre product
show the extreme differences in size of the compact fusion reactor
versus others that require entire buildings.
Lockheed Martin claims numerous uses for their compact fusion
reactor. These concepts include:
1) Provide Planes with Unlimited Range And Unmatched
Endurance The United States Air Force C-5 cargo aircraft
would be able to house a compact fusion reactor on board
(Lockheed Martin Corp.).
2) Power a City of 50-100,000 people By modifying current gas
turbine power plants to run on fusion power (Lockheed Martin
Corp.).
3) Deliver Energy to the Developing World Providing the world
with an unlimited supply of economical energy and worldwide
access to inexpensive electricity (Lockheed Martin Corp.).
4) Make Clean Water Available to the Masses Fusion reactors
could bring clean drinking water to scarce regions around the
globe by providing the power to run desalination plants
(Lockheed Martin Corp.).
5) Speed Up Space Travel (Lockheed Martin Corp.).

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
The applications for fusion power are endless (just like societies
demand for energy).
In my genre product I discuss nuclear fusion and the benefits of its
safe operation and low environmental impact. The truth is, human
activities are changing the climate and increasing global warming.
Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil for
energy has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Consequences of global warming include:

The Earth becoming warmer.

A stronger greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and
partially melt glaciers and other ice, increasing sea level.
Ocean water also will expand if it warms, contributing further

to sea level rise (NASA.).

It is concluded there's a better than 90 percent probability
that human-produced greenhouse gases such as carbon
dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have caused much of the
observed increase in Earth's temperatures over the past 50
years (NASA.).

The atmosphere of Venus is nearly all carbon dioxide with a

surface temperature hot enough to melt lead (NASA.). Lead has a
melting point of 621.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The continued warming of
Earth by the greenhouse affect ever so slowly makes our atmosphere

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
closer to that of Venuses. By implementing nuclear fusion the world
could drastically reduce its harmful carbon dioxide and greenhouse
gas emissions. There are numerous reasons why nuclear fusion is the
passport to the worlds energy future.
Here are a few:

Energy efficiency. One kilogram of fusion fuel can provide the same
amount of energy as 10 million kilograms of fossil fuel ("Fusion

Energy.").
Reliable power. Fusion power plants should provide a base load
supply of large amounts of electricity, at costs that are estimated to

be broadly similar to other energy sources ("Fusion Energy.").

Safety. The small amounts of fuel used in fusion devices (about the
weight of a postage stamp at any one time) means that a largescale nuclear accident is not possible ("Fusion Energy."). Not to
mention because fusion is not a chain reaction, unlike nuclear

fission, a melt down is not possible.

Abundant fuels. Deuterium can be extracted from water and
tritium is produced from lithium, which is found in the earth's crust.
Fuel supplies will therefore last for millions of years ("Fusion

Energy.").
No long-lived radioactive waste. Only plant components become
radioactive and these will be safe to recycle or dispose of
conventionally within 100 years ("Fusion Energy.").

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
No carbon emissions. The only by-products of fusion reactions are
small amounts of helium, which is an inert gas that will not add to
atmospheric pollution ("Fusion Energy."). The only emission from
a fusion reaction consists of a puff of Helium, which could be used
to fill children's balloons ("Fusion Energy.").
Just like anything there is always going to be people who disagree.
Nuclear fusion certainly has many benefits, but it also has its
disadvantages. The incredible cost to develop this technology is
extremely high. If everyone in the world were more educated on the
harmful effects of global warming resulting from our addiction to
energy, there would be more people demanding action for a cleaner
source of power. I believe that the nuclear fusion is the passport to an
emission free source of sustainable energy for centuries to come.

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015

Citations
Original
Dizon, Jan. "21 Amazing Facts About Global Warming And Climate
Change." Tech Times RSS. Tech Times, 27 May 2015. Web. 11
Nov. 2015.
Freudenrich, Ph.D. Craig. "How Fusion Reactors Work." HowStuffWorks.
HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
Lockheed Martin Corp. "Compact Fusion." Lockheed Martin. Lockheed
Martin, 2015. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
NASA. "Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?" Climate Change:
Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Charles Thornton

Thornton,

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
November 2015
"What Is Fusion?" Fusion for Energy News RSS. Fusion for Energy, 2015.
Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
New
Freudenrich, Ph.D. Craig. "How Fusion Reactors Work." HowStuffWorks.
HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
"Fusion Energy.: Introduction to Fusion. Culham Centre for Fusion
Energy (CCFE), 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Lockheed Martin Corp. "Compact Fusion." Lockheed Martin. Lockheed
Martin, 2015. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.

NASA. "Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?" Climate Change:

Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
"What Is Fusion?" Fusion for Energy News RSS. Fusion for Energy, 2015.
Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
"World Energy Consumption Since 1820 in Charts." Our Finite World.
N.p., 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 03 Oct. 2015.

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