<div dir="ltr">Thanks, Lace<div><br></div><div>I checked with ReImagine Appalachia. The co-director there said that if Kripachak advanced this idea, he would get a lot of push back (for reasons I mentioned) as well as regulatory barriers. </div><div><br></div><div><br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">George & Gwen Banziger; 740-434-5685; 740-434-3354 (mobile)<br></div></div></div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jun 7, 2024 at 8:28 AM Lace Lynch via Green <<a href="mailto:green@fuusm.org">green@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="font-family:"times new roman","new york",times,serif;font-size:13px"><div style="font-size:13px"></div>
<div style="font-size:13px"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5">I have known the administrator of this website for years. It pertains to the <span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:17.3333px">Farnsworth approach to Fusion</span></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5">There is a Forum to discuss Fusion and lots of unformation.</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5">Perhaps some may find this helpful.</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><span><a href="https://fusor.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fusor.net</a></span><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5">Lace Lynch</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="5"><br></font></div>
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On Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 08:08:45 PM EDT, George Banziger via Green <<a href="mailto:green@fuusm.org" target="_blank">green@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:
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<div><div id="m_-6973347872736497133yiv5381325268"><div dir="ltr">Fellow GSC members:<div><br></div><div> I have been having some dialogue with Democratic candidate for the OHIO 6 CD, Michel Kripchak. I did have some concerns about his promotion of fusion and ITER (international Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and sent my concerns to him.My comments/questions are in black, his responses in red. I am interested in what GSC members think about his ideas of fusion to generate electricity and the use of coal.</div><div><br></div><div><br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">George & Gwen Banziger; 740-434-5685; 740-434-3354 (mobile)<br></div></div></div><br><br><div><div dir="ltr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong>Michael Kripchak</strong> <span><<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:vote@kripchak.com" target="_blank">vote@kripchak.com</a>></span><br>Date: Thu, Jun 6, 2024 at 4:33 PM<br>Subject: Re: Fusion ITER<br>To: George Banziger <<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:gbanziger497@gmail.com" target="_blank">gbanziger497@gmail.com</a>><br></div><br><br><div dir="ltr"><div>Mr. & Mrs. Banziger:</div><div>Sir & Ma'am,</div><div><br></div><div>I am happy to have shared it with you. No email from a constituent is "unsolicited." It is your duty to keep your elected officials accountable and I welcome it.</div><div><br></div><div>Answers below in red:</div><div><br></div><div><div> I have looked over your document and done a bit of research
myself. Please regard this unsolicited message as one coming from a
non-expert and from a serious supporter of your candidacy for the OH6
congressional seat. </div><div><br></div><div> I learned from your
document that fusion has a large energy density (compared to other
sources and to fission technology.) and there is some research in the US
(Oak Ridge TN) on this topic. in the "highlights" section did you mean
to indicate $32 billion in <b>1945</b>?</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">No sir, The Manhattan Project cost $2B in1945 which is about $32B in today's dollars.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div> I have also picked up and generated some cautions and criticisms of this strategy:</div><div><br></div><div> -What is the role of coal, a fossil fuel, (dangerous to mine, expensive, and polluting) in your plan?</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Coal is only a fossil fuel if we burn it. I concede the danger of mining and general pollution that comes with it. No plan is ever 100% perfect. I'm not even saying we have to mine the coal. But using our coal legacy to get federal funds and attract S&T businesses to do the work here is a plan worth doing. I am open to other suggestions but this is "the first stake in the ground" if you will. Obviously, if we can get Congress fully on board, the details will be more flushed out with the experts at DoE, Academia, and Industry providing their inputs. I am but one man in a sea of experts who dedicated their professional lives to this cause. <br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">As for what coal can do: we can extract hydrogen (the main fuel source needed for fusion), we can create graphite (needed for Li-ion batteries), we can create graphene (next-gen power transmission lines), nanomaterial substrates (Carbon atom has 4 covalent bonds so it is super-versatile in chemical engineering applications), diamond vapor can be used for high thermal conductivity applications, we can extract hydrogen gas from coal which is an even better gaseous energy source than "natural gas" (chemically methane), we can also use coal to make ammonia cheaper for our farmers . </span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">This is all pretty wonkish and in the weeds so the umbrella term my campaign is calling this is "advanced carbonics" as a catch-all. Especially since if we talk to the scientists, they probably have a myriad other applications they can think of. <br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Now the environmentalists who are uncompromising will say doing this from coal is not good for the environment either and we should use other technology. I will concede coal is not as clean but the point is to use this technology development in an iterative fashion. If we can do this with coal now, let's do it. Later on, when other technology matures, we can develop those too. The point is, coal is ready to help the green revolution so let's start the process now and not sit on our hands waiting for a miracle green tech to fall in our laps. That's not how technology development works - it's always iterative.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>
--Fusion technology seems relatively new and expensive, as it has
rolled out in the project in southeastern France. Its effectiveness has
not yet been demonstrated, as far as I can see..</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Fusion is hardly a mature technology and will require a heavy investment in science and engineering to mature it and commercialize it. This will not be a walk in the park, but neither was the atomic bomb in 1939 or the Apollo program in 1961. This work will require dedication and support from the federal government which will IMPORTANTLY bring high quality jobs to our district to make it happen. The economic activity is the "brass tax" that actually matters to the average voter. <br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">The reason we are focusing on this now is because Germany (arguably the leaders in this field) believe there has been sufficient SCIENTIFIC progress, to now dedicate a significant portion of their economy to the ENGINEERING progress. This means blue collar jobs and blue collar success. If Germany thinks the time is right to work this (even if it will take 20 years) then we better listen. And if it takes 20 years, well that's 20 years of economic activity guaranteed to flow into our district. </span><br></div><div><br></div><div> -Fusion seems to rely on combining deuterium and tritium, the latter of which seems to be in short supply.</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">That is what the lithium blanket is for. As neutrons that naturally emit from the fusion process bombard the lithium blanket, they eject tritium and feed that into the already-occurring nuclear reaction. This by the way, is exactly how thermonuclear bombs (> 1 megaton yield) work too. Of course, a power plant is controlled whereas a bomb is most definitely not controlled.</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Because I know the next question, I'll answer it preemptively. It is impossible to create a H-bomb from a fusion plant. The H-bomb only occurs because it requires a smaller A-bomb to make it happen. No such amount of energy will ever be near a fusion power plant so the chances of a catastrophic explosion is practically impossible.<br></span></div><div><br></div><div> -Many engineers are recommending more R&D with this technology..</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Yes, and more R&D is more economic activity and more jobs. </span><br></div><div><br></div><div> -Is there a plan for handling waste from fusion--an engineering and political issue.</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">DoE has some plans. But the main thing to note is the waste that comes from fusion is minute compared to fission power plants and also just regular hydrocarbon plants. If this is the only issue that hasn't been solved in this megaproject, I will consider that a great success. </span><br></div><div><br></div><div>
-This technology is based on some fairly complex
information which the lay person would not easily understand. Rulli
might exploit this issue.</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Let him try to exploit it. I cannot sacrifice a positive vision and path forward for our fellow citizens because of a mouthpiece for extremism. I will gladly take his arrows so that our District prospers.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div> -There is
room for common ground on nuclear technology between Dems and Rs. In the
past year when we (some people from Marietta) met with Bill Johnson's
legislative director, the latter person made that point. It might be
easier to find that common ground with the more easily understood
fission technology, especially with the advancement of SMRs
(small nuclear reactors).</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Yes, Gen-IV fission reactors are promising in the realm of fission. The government doesn't need to choose between "A or B" we can do both. Just like in WW2 when we developed bombers and aircraft carriers while also working on The A-Bomb, or in the 60s when we worked on the semiconductor chip and also sent a man to the moon. There are few "silver bullets" in life, but nuclear fusion is. If humanity solves fusion, I cannot overstate how prosperous we will become. It will, for all intents and purposes, be a miracle cure to our energy woes.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div> I really
appreciated your remarks at the May 17 Washington County Dem dinner. You
are a great campaigner and thoughtful policy maker. I just sent a small
donation and hope to get a yard sign later today. Please let me know
what else we can do to support your campaign.. I think we have a shot at
flipping this seat from R to D. You're exciting a lot of voters here in
Washington County with that prospect ,which we hope will come to
fruition on June 11.</div><div><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Thank you sir. A megaproject like this will take work and consensus building to change the national narrative to get the country on board. But every journey begins with a single step and I intend to be the one in Congress to take that first step for our District and for our Republic. </span><br></div></div><div><br></div><div><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Respectfully,</div>
<div>Michael L. Kripchak</div>
<div>Democratic Candidate </div>
<div>US Congress, OH-06</div>
<div><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.kripchak.com" target="_blank">www.kripchak.com</a></div></div></div></div><br></div></div></div><br><div><div dir="ltr">On Thu, Jun 6, 2024 at 8:55 PM George Banziger <<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:gbanziger497@gmail.com" target="_blank">gbanziger497@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Michael,<div> </div><div> Thanks for sending the (digital) summary of your article on fusion and the ITER project.</div><div><br></div><div> I have looked over your document and done a bit of research myself. Please regard this unsolicited message as one coming from a non-expert and from a serious supporter of your candidacy for the OH6 congressional seat. </div><div><br></div><div> I learned from your document that fusion has a large energy density (compared to other sources and to fission technology.) and there is some research in the US (Oak Ridge TN) on this topic. in the "highlights" section did you mean to indicate $32 billion in <b>1945</b>?</div><div><br></div><div> I have also picked up and generated some cautions and criticisms of this strategy:</div><div><br></div><div> -What is the role of coal, a fossil fuel, (dangerous to mine, expensive, and polluting) in your plan?</div><div><br></div><div> --Fusion technology seems relatively new and expensive, as it has rolled out in the project in southeastern France. Its effectiveness has not yet been demonstrated, as far as I can see..</div><div><br></div><div> -Fusion seems to rely on combining deuterium and tritium, the latter of which seems to be in short supply.</div><div><br></div><div> -Many engineers are recommending more R&D with this technology..</div><div><br></div><div> -Is there a plan for handling waste from fusion--an engineering and political issue.</div><div><br></div><div> -This technology is based on some fairly complex information which the lay person would not easily understand. Rulli might exploit this issue.</div><div><br></div><div> -There is room for common ground on nuclear technology between Dems and Rs. In the past year when we (some people from Marietta) met with Bill Johnson's legislative director, the latter person made that point. It might be easier to find that common ground with the more easily understood fission technology, especially with the advancement of SMRs (small nuclear reactors).</div><div><br></div><div> I really appreciated your remarks at the May 17 Washington County Dem dinner. You are a great campaigner and thoughtful policy maker. I just sent a small donation and hope to get a yard sign later today. Please let me know what else we can do to support your campaign.. I think we have a shot at flipping this seat from R to D. You're exciting a lot of voters here in Washington County with that prospect ,which we hope will come to fruition on June 11.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div> <br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">George & Gwen Banziger; 740-434-5685; 740-434-3354 (mobile)<br></div></div></div></div></div>
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