Fusion Power for Beginners

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Light source. Heat source. Object of worship. The sun is all of these things to humanity. Since 1920, it has been the starting point for theories about fusion power and is even a natural fusion reactor. Fusion power is a type of energy generation that is still in development, but is getting close to being ready for commercial use.

Fusion power is the generation of energy by nuclear fusion. Or, in simpler terms, is the combining, or fusing, of two lighter materials together to form a heavier material. When this material combines, it releases energy in accordance with Einstein’s E=mc2 formula as some of the materials’ mass is converted into energy. Like making hamburger patties with two different meats, and the resulting patty shrinks when cooked. Only instead of fat, grease, and steam coming out of the patty, the materials release plasma, a cloud of ions and electrons that can be used to heat water for steam turbines.

Theoretically, any material, or more specifically the atoms making up the material, can be used in fusion. However, like making burger patties, the pressure of combining the two materials and temperature needed to cook it are hard to achieve. In fact, modern power plants are currently limited to using the lightest of elements, such as hydrogen.

Don’t we already use nuclear fusion in nuclear power plants? The answer is no; the reaction used in those plants is nuclear fission, which may cause you to then ask, what is the difference? Well, there are a number of them actually. To keep things simple here are the key ones.

To start with, the basic process used in each, as already mentioned fusion combines atoms to produce a larger one like making a burger patty. Fission on the other hand, does the opposite, and splits the nuclei of atoms in an immense burst of energy, rather like tearing up a loaf of bread.

Now for the conditions and energy needed to produce reactions from each process. Continuing with the bread metaphor, fission needs very specific conditions to produce a reaction, like the baking of bread. Even a slight mistake could cause the reaction to fail, or the loaf not to rise or taste right. All fusion needs is the right amount of pressure and temperature. That said, a fission reaction requires very little energy, while fusion requires a large amount to force the materials together and contain the reaction.

This may cause some to wonder, why bother with fusion if it takes some much energy to produce a reaction? This is because the energy generated by fusion is three to four times greater than the energy produced by fission. To put that in perspective fission, or nuclear power, provides about a 15% of all power in Canada, despite Canada only having 19 nuclear plants.

Another key difference is the fuel used by fusion and fission to generate energy. As previously stated, fusion can theoretically use any atoms for fuel to generate plasma. However, due to current limitations, the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium are being used in experiments. Fission though, is a bit of one note wonder as uranium is used due to how common it is.

Finally, the by-products, or waste, fusion and fission produce are the last big difference between the two. The by-products produced by fusion are relatively few: small amounts of helium, which is harmless, tritium, which is radioactive but dissipates in only 12 years and does not accumulate in the body, and the fusion generator will be made radioactive by the reaction, but only dangerously so for about 50 years.

Fission unfortunately produces quite a bit more: waste is produced when enriching, or purifying, uranium so that it can be used for fuel in nuclear reactors; paper, clothing, and tools, that contain small amounts of radioactivity, but dissipates fairly quickly; the reactor and structural material, that contains larger amounts and lasts longer; and finally the spent fuel rods, that can remain dangerously radioactive for thousands to millions of years.

That’s what fusion power is; a method to generate energy the same way the sun does. It’s a way to generate more than fission while producing less waste. And hopefully, it will be ready soon as new best way to power the world.

Photo Credit: Chris Bickel                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Video Credit: US Department of Energy (Documentary Tube)

DEREK GLEW

Derek Glew is a student at Algonquin College in the Professional Writing program. He aspires to be a professional fiction writer, likes to play video games both new and old, and loves a good story in any form of media. A bit of an introverted dreamer, he hopes to be published some day.

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Keeping Your Readers Reading

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This is post isn’t so much about how to be original as it is about keeping your readers interested in your story, past the summary and first page or paragraph. As the title says, you must tell your story well. By this I mean: be descriptive, empathic, interesting and watch for mistakes. Otherwise, the majority of people will never finish it.

Much like cooking, a story must be well-crafted for readers to enjoy it and want to keep reading. Original or not, if a story is missing at least a decent level of descriptive detail the reader will lose interest as they can’t picture or lose themselves in the story. Your protagonist needs to be empathic enough so that your readers understand him or her and experience the story through their eyes. Being interesting means keeping your story balanced. This means knowing when to increase the pace, the action happening in the story, or decrease it, keeping your characters consistent, and the plot moving. These, along with proper grammar and spelling, are essential for a story.

Just like pizza, or any other food someone eats on a regular basis, it’s possible to tell an unoriginal story that it is still enjoyable and popular if it is well-written. After all, you don’t just eat one slice of pizza or a burger and never again. Like movies and TV shows, books can be enjoyed just as regularly. However, just remember like people don’t like eating bad food, they also don’t like reading bad stories.

Two excellent examples of authors that very prolific because they write well, and manage to be original, are Stephen King and R. L. Stine. Sure as professional and popular writers the publishing houses that sell their books have editors to make sure of all this. But, this doesn’t mean you hold yourself to a lower standard, because if anything you hold yourself to a higher one so that your work gets noticed. If you’re just starting out, try waiting a week after you finish you story to reread it yourself, or find a friend to read it and mark it up with corrections.

Remember reading is subjective. The only person who perfectly understands your story is you the author. Because as Stephen King has said, "writing is telepathy," meaning it is your job to translate that story into words that readers can understand and enjoy.

Photo Credit: Quotehd | Picture Quotes

Derek Glew

Derek Glew is a student at Algonquin College and is in the Professional Writing program. Aspires to be a professional fiction writer, likes to play video games both new and old and loves a good story in any form of media. A bit of an introverted dreamer, he hopes to be published someday.

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Mocking Overused Ideas into Something Original

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That’s right, all you have to do sometimes is poke a bit of fun at things. After all, due to the wide variety of books and stories available to us - thanks to libraries, the internet, and bookstores - finding common and overused plot lines, characters, and elements is pretty easy. And while it may seem like you’re just adding a new element to the story instead of originality, proper satire or parody actually takes a fair bit of work.

For example, take one of the most classic of plots: The hero goes to slay the monster. Seems like satirizing or parodying it would be simple, as you could make the hero someone unexpected, like a baker, and the monster a giant cute animal, but then all you have is a children’s story. I mean, you could still make the story more mature, but you haven’t satirized or parodied it by simply having those two funny, unexpected characters.

Good satire or parody is more than being witty - though it does help. Here are a few more things you could do with the monster slaying plot: The hero discovers the monster is intelligent and refutes the hero’s claims that its dangerous and must die. Have the hero discover that the monster became a menace as a result of the surrounding villages hunting all its food. Or the hero is a monster seeking to kill a human warrior that has been killing many of its kind. That is just what can be done with the plot; fleshing out the story, like the journey to find the monster, offers plenty of opportunity for making fun of other aspects of the story.

Two experts on this style of writing are Terry Pratchett, his series Discworld that parodies the hell out of fantasy stories, and Douglas Adams, his series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy does the same to science fiction.

So remember, everything can be satirized or parodied, and while maybe humour is not your forte or your jokes sink faster than rocks, you don’t need just those things to satirize or parody concepts and themes. Having characters react realistically to obstacles and situations or playing out a quest or problem to the logical extreme are ways to satirize or parody something. And know if you can pull it off well, you will have produced something very funny and original.

Photo Credit: Quote Fancy 

Derek Glew

Derek Glew is a student at Algonquin College and is in the Professional Writing program. Aspires to be a professional fiction writer, likes to play video games both new and old and loves a good story in any form of media. A bit of an introverted dreamer, he hopes to be published someday.

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Giving Those Old Ideas a New Spin

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Another way to inject some originality into your work if you can’t seem to think of anything is as the title suggests: Try to give whatever you want to write a new spin. Take an old idea, or several, and try using them in a different way. Examples of using older stories are: The Invisible Man as a comedy, the whale hunt of Moby Dick taking place in space, or Vampires and Werewolves vs Aliens. Just remember to use only the basic idea or premise, as otherwise you’ll end up with too many similarities and be regarded as parodying an existing story.

A good example of this is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Here, an existing work is altered to make a fairly popular parody that even credits the original story’s author as co-author. But while parody is all well and good for true originality, try to only use elements and basic premises from existing stories in your own.

After all, a story can be original even if the material it’s based on isn’t; just remember not use too much of the material. It will be good writing and storytelling that makes or breaks a story - not the concept, theme, or plot which is what will be attracting readers to your story. You can use those things to determine what genre your story fits in. You’d be surprised just how big a genre can be and where your story can fit within it. And who might buy your story, as publishers can be picky about the kind of story they want.

If you don’t wish to use well-known material with a twist as the base of your story, then perhaps try using and focusing on elements of stories that normally aren’t spared more than a few seconds.  The TV show Grimm does this by using creatures of legend that are used in many films and games as enemies and the tales surrounding them as the central aspect of the show. As in, not only do these creatures still exist, they live among us unseen except by a few with a unique ability and their habits correspond with those tales and myths.

Maybe just try mixing genres to see what you can come up with, or perhaps try the TV tropes Story Generator, or this Story Generator here for several at once.

Photo Credit: AZ QUOTES

Derek Glew

Derek Glew is a student at Algonquin College and is in the Professional Writing program. Aspires to be a professional fiction writer, likes to play video games both new and old and loves a good story in any form of media. A bit of an introverted dreamer, he hopes to be published someday.

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Being Original: The Creative Puzzle

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My guide will mainly be referring to fiction in terms of how to be original because that is mainly what I write. Still, feel free to try using any mentioned tips or ideas for non-fiction.

Is it possible to be original in today’s world of self-publishing, blogs, fiction, fan-fiction sites, and e-books? The answer is yes, but how hard it is depends on how original you want to be; the digital age has made it easy to write and put it out for all to see, while also making note of everything else that has been produced so far.

But fear not. The first step should be finding where your idea fits in the literary world. What genre is it? And what medium (example: short stories or novels) are you writing in? Then do a quick Google search of your idea and see what comes up. The question of how original you want to be comes up again. Completely? Slightly? If something similar pops up, discard this idea and think of something else. If you’re okay with some similarities, but not too many, move to the next paragraph.

Because similarities are bound to happen; again, watch for too many. Take A Song of Ice and Fire - better known to the public as Game of Thrones - or The Hunger Games for example. They have similarities with each other, but only a few, as well as with other stories, both in their genres and outside of it. They are both considered original stories in their own right, because their authors aren’t copying anyone else. And the same is likely true about your idea, because if you do a good job writing it, then you’ll have carved your own place in the literary world - even if it is similar to existing stories.

That is perfectly fine; there are plenty of enjoyable but similar stories out there. If you strive for originality, no one can fault you. If something is bothering you, try something unexpected or rewrite your original idea. Actually writing out an idea is hard enough.

There is plenty of space in the world of literature and it is up to you to find where you fit in.

Here are two pages with some ideas and tips on originality: Originality Isn't Everything: Write What You Know and Originality - a writing challenge?

Photo Credit: QuotationOf

DEREK GLEW

Derek Glew is a student at Algonquin College in the Professional Writing program. He aspires to be a professional fiction writer, likes to play video games both new and old, and loves a good story in any form of media. A bit of an introverted dreamer, he hopes to be published some day.

Twitter | Tumblr