What will be the main energy resource in the next century?

[CraigD]

However, I cannot comprehend how antimatter can be tapped to provide energy, because as I understand antimatter annihilates all matter and hence cannot be contained/produced in a material container.

It’s true that antimatter must be carefully kept from contacting ordinary matter, or it will annihilate, converting the combined mass to energy. There are, however, several well-developed techniques for doing this.

 

For charged particles – collection of positrons or antiprotons – a Penning trap is a simple and effective device. Neutrally charged particles – antiatoms such as antihydrogen – are more challenging. Only a few research teams have actually created antiatoms. To my knowledge, they have all used devices known as Ioffe-Pritchard Traps to store them.

 

All antimatter traps built to date have confined miniscule quantities of antimatter. Scaling them up to contain the quantities required by advanced power systems is a substantial engineering challenge, but is not, in principle, impossible.

[arkain101]

I suppose the most likely thing will be multi-free energy systems (power stations that use wind, tide, wave, sun, heat, and combine it into either one operating power developing system or one storage and supply center.

I cant see one thing being the norm in all places since its a diverse world we need a bunch of things.

Also I do think we will find out how to tap into the density of space-time, the zero point field as they call it to tap energy.

[Kayra]

I do not see one single future, but a road of many steps.

 

I think the first step will be to make our own oil using harvested solar energy. (is this bio oil or solar?). It will work within existing infrastructure and hopefully be fairly competitive price wise.

 

Second will be hydrogen, but it will require some drastic infrastructure changes. It is VERY likely that this will be generated using the method described by Hallenrm, but I suspect the danger would be minimal. The ability to increase production simply by telling an organism to divide instead of produce will allow such a system to scale to any required size.

Proper containment and distribution will be the biggest problem to solve. Using a material with a massive internal surface area that will release H2 when heated would be my bet, but the race is wide open. Contamination should be able to be resolved with proper packaging.

 

Solar will play a larger roll then most suspect (but not in the form of Solar Panels). It will be involved in almost every stage of energy production as both a source of heat and electricity.

As a step towards Anti-matter production, near Sol solar collectors will be able to easily beam terawatts of power (and more if needed) to power generation systems either in orbit or on the planet surface. The cost of this system is surprisingly small considering the amount of energy involved. Materials and concepts are already available to accomplish this. With this massive supply of solar radiation at our fingertips, the ability to create cheap, plentiful hydrogen/oil/alcohol/food would be relatively easy.

 

Even space travel in our solar system would become drastically easier with a Sol collector in place. Space ships would only need to carry a reaction mass, and not a reactor. the ability to focus 500Gwh+ of radiant energy at a traveling space ship would allow it to get decent acceleration throughout it's flight. Flights to the asteroid belt in 2 weeks anyone?

 

This would likely remain as a clean, endless source until the Robert Forward concept is a possibility much farther down the line. Anti-Matter would enable so many possibilities that it boggles the mind. I believe that by the time it is a reality though, BioNanoTech, Solar power, and true AI will have changed the face of our world, and prepared us sufficiently for it.

 

I guess my answer to the poll is.. Yes.

[hallenrm]

My accolades to Kayra, Arkain and CraigD:thumbs_up :beer: :eek2: for the replies that really add to the discussion!!

 

I'll remember you all in my sci fi; may be send you a copy too, if you so wish:)

[Zythryn]

For the short term -5-15 years, I think Hydrogen will become the most viable option to fosil fuels. Not Hydrogen fuel cells though, but an internal combustion engine.

BMW is already testing a number of these vehicles in Germany and are planning on the first few hundred 'consumer ready' hydrogen fuel cars in 2008!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11837613/

 

Infrastructure is starting out, it appears, in California and British Columbia. If this works well, it should spread quickly (slower if things in the middle east calm down, faster if things get even more tense).

 

For general power grids, I think an increase in nuclear plants and a growth in wind power will occur. If the solor cells continue to get more efficient thier use hopefully will grow as well.

 

The idea of anti matter is beautiful. I would love to see that as a long term goal.

 

Mark

[maxc]

The greatest source of energy has been and will continue to be the human mind.

 

Bill

And hopefully not greed!