this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
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[โ€“] lime@feddit.nu 29 points 2 weeks ago (20 children)

the implication of einsteins mass-energy equivalence formula is mind-blowing to me. one gram of mass, if perfectly converted to energy, makes 25 GWh. that means half the powerplants in my country could be replaced with this theoretical "mass converter" going through a gram of fuel an hour. that's under 10 kilograms of fuel a year.

a coal plant goes through tons of fuel a day.

energy researchers, get on it

[โ€“] Fluke@lemm.ee 12 points 2 weeks ago (13 children)

What do you think fusion research is?

[โ€“] absGeekNZ 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

No where near perfect mass conversion....

Max theoretical mass-energy conversion efficiency is under 1%

[โ€“] teije9@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

that's still waaayyyy more efficient than coal

[โ€“] absGeekNZ 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That is a different level entirely.

The mass-energy conversion from chemical processes is extremely small compared to nuclear processes, you can't really compare the in any meaningful way

[โ€“] teije9@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

yes you can. coal costs ~32 cent per kWh, and uranium ~$0.0015 per kWh

[โ€“] absGeekNZ 3 points 2 weeks ago

We were talking about the mass-energy conversion, for nuclear fusion.

Not really sure how nuclear fission Vs coal cost/kWh is relevant.

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