6 Responses

1. If we could figure out how to create nuclear fusion… which is what the sun does… it would fit your bill

2. Hydrogen fusion.

3. Deuterium-deuterium reaction, the most sought-after sustainable fusion reaction, but not the only one.

4. Fusion power refers to power generated by nuclear fusion reactions. In this kind of reaction, two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus and release energy. In a more general sense, the term can also refer to the production of net usable power from a fusion source, similar to the usage of the term “steam power.” Most design studies for fusion power plants involve using the fusion reactions to create heat, which is then used to operate a steam turbine, similar to most coal-fired power stations as well as fission-driven nuclear power stations.

   A fusion reactor will heat plasma to temperatures which are ten times those in the core of the sun. Harnessing such extremes in an engineered “bottle” will take many decades, and ultimately may not be practical.[1] An editorial in New Scientist magazine explained that “if commercial fusion is viable, it may well be a century away.”[2]

   The largest current experiment, JET, has resulted in fusion power production slightly less than the power put into the plasma, maintaining an output of 16 MW for a few seconds. In June 2005, the construction of the experimental reactor ITER, designed to produce several times more fusion power than the power put into the plasma over many minutes, was announced. The production of net electrical power from fusion is planned for DEMO, the next generation experiment after ITER.

   from wikipedia!!!

   and a pictue of the inside of a fusion power plant when it on is here!!.>>>> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/JointEuropeanTorus_internal.jpg <<<< and as the hydrogen can be sourced from the sea it is virtually limitless

5. Fusion may be the first answer, but matter/antimatter reactions, if a method can be developed, would be about the best you could possibly get for energy yield since such nuclear reactions produce nothing else BUT energy.

6. Linmitless and clean?…….I would say Matter/Antimatter reaction. however, I would estimate conservatively that we are at least 80 to 100 years away from even toying with that possibility as we need to make advances in several other sciences and technologies before we even attempt it. I would not expect any progress at all towards that technology until at least a room temperature or near room temperature superconducting material is developed and manufactured commercially. The next choice sooner than that would be fusion. Specifically deuterium/deuterium fusion, which I estimate to be closer to 40 or 50 years away from reliable practical use. The next soonest reaction would be…..believ it or not……the simple hydrogen/oxygen combustion reaction, which we are about 20 to 25 years away from reliable commonplace practical use. The next soonest has actually already been introduced but is not yet a practical widespread applied technology, which is tidal generators, which qualify for this question I believe even though it isnt really a nuclear reaction per se, because it is limitless and clean. Also even though Hydrogen isnt exactly limitless, it is the most abundant element in the universe, so it is about as close as we can get to limitless for our purposes anyways.