this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
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Scientists Unveil Radical Plan to Drill Into a Volcano For Near-Unlimited Energy::undefined

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Garbage headline. Being able to study magma's behavior in this way is extremely cool though. It is also not exactly the side of a volcano.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I kind of thought that this is what Geothermal energy was... Or will this be Geothermal energy on steroids?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

With standard near-surface geothermal energy, boreholes up to 200 meters are drilled. The heat difference from that depth is only around 10-15°C, but that's enough to collect the energy to heat buildings.

So yes, drilling into lava areas will spice up things.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Iceland has geothermal power plants going down 2.5km and with temperatures of ~250°C that produce electricity, not heat.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I saw this move! They end up drilling to the core so they can place nuclear explosions to restart the core. Then they had to drill back going up. It was a good movie. Also. Everyone has always thought about doing this.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Actually, I really did enjoy that movie as well. I believe it's called The Core and came out in 2008 If I remember correctly.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Just looked it up. It's 2003.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

LOL. It's cheesy. LOL.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yo I'm doing the same thing in my Oxygen Not Included playthrough right now

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Great game and amazing simulation! I fee likel I learned a lot about the difficulty of balancing thermal loads in a closed system.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (3 children)

i always thought the problem with this geothermal-delivered-to-surface was transmitting the power over long distances..

course, this article is really just about drilling into a magma chamber and the volcano not going boom

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Spin a turbine, generate electricity, transmit via HVDC?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

too effective, HVAC with large losses is the best I can offer

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I'd like to see some definitions or units put next to 'ultra high'.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Don't worry, water boils, steam spins turbine.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

The article says they have one example of drilling into a magma chamber and it not going boom. I hope their optimism is justified, but this looks like the plot at the beginning of an apocalyptic movie

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (3 children)

These guys will do anything except using hydro, wind, solar, and nuclear energy

[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago

There’s nothing wrong with thermal energy plants. They are real and with companies like Eavor making real commercial plants using closed-loops there’s a lot of stuff happening in the space right now.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 10 months ago

Yeah what's with the weird fixation on magma over there at the uh... *checks notes* Krafla Magma Testbed Organization?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You realise geothermal is included in the category of clean, green energy? And Iceland has been pioneering the field for ages?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Yeah, I know geothermal is a renewable energy form but I can't imagine drilling into magma would be a good option

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago (2 children)

One thing that surprised me in the article - I had no idea magma could be acidic!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

This is not something I had ever thought about before and I am also fascinated.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Fun fact, when you touch acidic magma/lava, it does burn your skin!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (4 children)

There is no possibility of this ever backfiring in the slightest way, like oh say awakening something sleeping deep in the earth's crust. :-P

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

we drilled too greedily, and too deep. You know what we awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dum. Shadow and Flame.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

To be fair, probably all they will find is melted rock and like... gas. But it's fun to dream isn't it?!:-D

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

I'm less concerned about that and more concerned about supervillains building lairs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago
[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

Isn’t this when the lava demon things jump out and cause some ruckus?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

MUAHAHAHAHA!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

I wonder if it will make the volcano more stable.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Near-unlimited as in "renewable", right x) ?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

You can throw your trash in the lava to create more.

You get a bonus smokey flavor, and that is how stars are made.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Renewable in the sense of solar, by the time it runs out we'll have bigger things to worry about

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

That's my point, unlimited in time, not as in "we can get as much as we want from it. Title is kinda click-bait

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I think I’ll take “a real commercial plant” from Eavor rather than this, thank you.