Currently, most of the world is powered by the burning of fossil fuels and other natural resources, but these resources are rapidly being depleted. Although these are very good sources, they emit various types of pollution including greenhouse gasses which cause global warming. Fortunately, more and more newer technologies are beginning to replace the natural fuels.

Transportation is very important today. From cars to airplanes, they all burn fuel. Since the natural fuels are quickly running out, new fuels are invented. Beginning in 1998, many new American automobiles have been built so that they can burn gasohol. Gasohol is a mixture of gasoline and alcohol (mostly methanol or ethanol). Although emissions of carbon dioxide cannot be reduced, many other pollutants are reduced, and gasoline is also conserved. U

Fission power plants are very efficient, and can produce a lot of power at once, but also produce a lot of radioactive and toxic wastes. Although hydropower, wind, and solar power are very environmentally friendly, many countries do not have the money or resources for them. Fusion is the choice of the future. Fusion power is not yet a reality but we know it is possible. The sun produces massive amounts of energy just by fusing hydrogen atoms together to form helium. Only a small quantity of hydrogen is required in a reactor to produce enough power for an entire city. Fusion is a lot safer because it does not require the heavy radioactive metals, but isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and trillium). In order for fusion to take place, atoms must be under high pressure, and high temperatures (over one hundred million degrees Celsius). The plasma where the atoms would fuse is a fluid, but because of the high temperatures there are no containers that can hold the plasma, so magnetic fields are used to suspend the plasma in a chamber. This works because the atoms loose their electrons in the plasma, and all that is left is the positively charged nuclei, which can be acted upon by the magnetic field. The fusion of the atoms would form helium molecules, and produce energy in the form of heat and light. This energy is used to heat water to turn steam turbines and generate electricity. Scientists around the world are researching fusion technologies, but none have been successful yet. The plasma at the high temperatures can only be contained for a few seconds because of their high kinetic energies. With all the research going into nuclear fusion, this efficient, and environment friendly source of energy is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality.

Binary-cycle power plants can also be anywhere, but require hot water or steam usually below 200 degrees Celsius to be pumped out the ground and into a heat exchange chamber. In this heat exchange chamber, another fluid with a much lower boiling point is pumped in. The water at high temperature vaporizes the other fluid and the vapors turn the turbines. The vapors are then condensed and pumped back in the heat exchange chamber to be vaporized again. T

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