Our rapidly expanding demand for fuel has exceeded the amount now available to us with existing technology. In the long run, nonexhaustible sources of energy will have to be found and exploited. Solar and geothermal energy are being explored, as are breeder reactors, but none of these sources is expected to furnish a significant amount of energy within the next 50 years. Fission reactors are now providing nuclear energy, but by the end of the century they will still contribute less than one quarter of the total energy needed (see figure 1). How shall we provide the needed energy for the next 30 to 50 years?
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© 1974 American Institute of Physics.
1974
American Institute of Physics
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