What is the future of energy?

[Kerbface]

Fossil fuels to stay? Nuclear? Different kinds of nuclear like LFTR? Solar? Wind? Wave farms? Geothermal? Several or all of the above?

[Flixxbeatz]

Going antimatter. It's inevitable (but not until many more decades will pass)

[Space.exe]

To me in the near future it would probably be something like a antimatter generator cause it releases lots of energy when created

[Brotoro]

Where are guys getting all this antimatter?

I'm sure in 2153 antimatter is available at every corner drugstore, but here in 2013 it's a little hard to come by.

[Holo]

I think solar. It's the only energy source that is plentiful enough and easy to obtain to support multistellar civilisations. Antimatter's all well and good, but you haver to either find a large depost of natural antimatter or put in mjore energy that you get back.

[Space.exe]

a nickle could get you into space :l so about a pound could get you to like 77% the speed of light

[WestAir]

Today to the far future: Fossil Fuels.

Then, further into the future: Last remaining Fossil Fuels.

Then, immediately following that: Horse and Chariot.

[cpt_nosh]

Cow Farts. As simple as it sounds.

[RulerOfNothing]

To me in the near future it would probably be something like a antimatter generator cause it releases lots of energy when created

No it doesn't. Antimatter production uses energy.

[M83]

I'd hope for nuclear and solar but I don't see fossil fuels leaving the world energy stage anytime soon.

[nhnifong]

"The future" is a little ambiguous so I've broken it down into powers of 10.

1 year from now: Fossil fuels 80%, Organic renewables 12%, Non-organic renewables 5%, Nuclear 3%

10 years from now: Fossil fuels 79%, Organic renewables 12%, Non-organic renewables 6%, Nuclear 3%

100 years from now: Fossil fuels 66%, Organic renewables 16%, Non-organic renewables 10%, Nuclear 8%

1000 years from now: Fossil fuels 15%, Organic renewables 35%, Non-organic renewables 25%, Nuclear 25%

10000 years from now: Fossil fuels 1%, Organic renewables 45%, Non-organic renewables 49%, Nuclear 5%

100000 years from now: Fossil fuels 0%, Organic renewables 10%, Non-organic renewables 90%, Nuclear 1%

Fossil fuels includes: Oil, coal, and natural gas.

Organic renewables includes: Corn ethanol, burning biomass such as wood, and any genetically engineered organisms that produce fuel or electricity from light.

Non-organic renewables includes: Solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal, wind, and any exotic astronomical forces our descendants may discover.

Nuclear includes: fission of Uranium-238, Plutonium 239, Thorium 232, and the Fusion of Hydrogen-2 or 3 into Helium.

Edited June 26, 2013 by nhnifong

[Alfondoo]

In terms of what will be fueling our transport - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium–air_battery

I have a close friend working to create a production model with a large car company right now.

[what-the]

Nuclear fusion. Because the thing I want most is a sun in the back of my car.

[Tex_NL]

Most definitely fusion! Nuclear fusion is the only reliable, renewable and non polluting energy source currently within our level of technology.

Fossil fuel will eventually run out and is polluting.

Wind/solar are clean and renewable but unreliable. No wind/sun = no power.

Nuclear fission is reliable but leaves nasty long lasting radiation.

Antimatter is sci-fi. Yes, in theory it IS possible but antimatter is extremely rare. (Plus it has the nasty habit of exploding uncontrollably when it comes into contact with regular matter.)

Nuclear fusion does not explode (and if a reactor does fail pressure and heat escapes stopping the reaction instantly), leaves no radiation, reliable and nearly impossible to exhaust. (A single bathtub of seawater holds enough deuterium to supply an average person with more energy than they will use in their whole life.)

Don't expect a fusion reactor under the hood of your car/plane. Personal vehicles will most likely be powered by hydrogen fuel-cells. But the energy to make that hydrogen will be from fusion.

[Guest]

Today to the far future: Fossil Fuels.

Then, further into the future: Last remaining Fossil Fuels.

Then, immediately following that: Horse and Chariot.

There is more truth in this post than meets the eye.

[Tex_NL]

Today to the far future: Fossil Fuels.

Then, further into the future: Last remaining Fossil Fuels.

Then, immediately following that: Horse and Chariot.

There is more truth in this post than meets the eye.

Don't know who said it but it reminds me of; The third world war will be fought with atom bombs, the fourth with spears and arrows.

[LewisTherin]

Well I'll be boring and go with, over the next century or so, the development of LFTR and some form of fusion as baseload power sources, which could then in turn be used to crack hydrogen for fuel cells for automotive requirements etc.

The fun, sci-fi prediction [i.e. yes I know these are ridiculous] is, at some unknown point (pending substances that, while not ruled out by our current understanding of physics, we have no evidence for) the capture / creation of black holes and the extraction of energy via:

i) hawking radiation (for masses small enough that this power rating be useful, I'm not too sure on this theory, presumably as the BH decays you get 100% of matter in as energy out) and/or

ii) for larger black holes, capture of energy from the accretion disk of a spinning black hole (50% mass -> energy conversion)

Then the use of these sources for the production of antimatter batteries, because, as if plonking black holes all over didn't sound worrying enough, why not put antimatter in everything as well?

[Kryten]

Don't know who said it but it reminds me of; The third world war will be fought with atom bombs, the fourth with spears and arrows.

Albert Einstein. "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

[Drunken Hobo]

Personal vehicles will most likely be powered by hydrogen fuel-cells. But the energy to make that hydrogen will be from fusion.

I'm sceptical about the use of Hydrogen as a future fuel, I don't think it'll ever move past a gimmick. It's such an unpleasant gas to work with; it requires a huge amount of energy to compress it into liquid and takes a very heavy container to keep it compressed, making it inefficient to transport. Unless we perfect ultra-strong lightweight materials such as carbon nanotubes, or are somehow able to make metallic hydrogen easily then I don't see it going far. Synthesising hydrocarbons or alcohols from CO₂ or waste is more likely the future.

[Mekan1k]

This is interesting.... Let me give it some thought- I will poll my contacts with their models, and get back to this.

[Flixxbeatz]

All of the innovations posted here will be possible, unless

suddenly happens somewhere in-between.

Nuclear fusion. Because the thing I want most is a sun in the back of my car.

Well how about a car that doesn't need refueling for the next decade...

[MBobrik]

10000 years from now: Fossil fuels 1%, Organic renewables 45%, Non-organic renewables 49%, Nuclear 5%

.

I don't think that we will burn all the thorium and uranium and deuterium from seawater that fast... Unless of course it is going to be spent on an huge armada of spaceships. In that case the 10000 years row will look like

10000 years from now: Fossil fuels 0%, Organic renewables 0%, Non-organic renewables 100%, Nuclear 0%

where there is just one non-organic renewable - solar energy collected on low orbits around the star and converted to antimatter as the most efficient storage.

[Ben Kerman]

If we ever stop using fossil fuels before it's too late, I think (if fusion is not yet ready) we will use fission. Fusion after that for a very long time, and once Humanity doesn't rely on planets anymore, it's gonna be some sort of use-a-stars-entire-energy solar collector deployed in every system that is colonized.

[MBobrik]

Today to the far future: Fossil Fuels.

Then, further into the future: Last remaining Fossil Fuels.

Then, immediately following that: Horse and Chariot.

Wonder how you're gonna to to prevent, with your horses and chariots, all the rogue starving engineers from building small nuclear reactors in their backyards.

[ouion]

If you can discovered a isotope of uranium or plutonium that is not radioactive and dangerous. Its clean and last forever. You have infinite Energy then.