Helium3

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Helium-3
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What is it?

• A more stable and lighter isotope of Helium

Where is it found?

• It is almost nonexistent on Earth but is found in
  great abundance on the surface of the moon

What is it good for?

• If harnessed correctly, it can provide energy for
  the entire world for the next 1000 years

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Whats so special about Helium-3?
Helium-4
Helium-3
Neutron
Proton
Helium-3 is missing a neutron This causes it to
lust for another neutron Which is the basis
behind fusion with Helium-3
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Fusion with Helium-3
Fusion using a Helium-3 nucleus with a Deuterium
atom releases much less radioactivity than normal
fusion between Deuterium and Tritium
A simple Hydrogen atom is released from this
fusion reaction
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Helium-3 is so rare! Where would we find it?

• True, on Earth it is very scarce

• But on the surface of the moon, it is riddled
  almost everywhere with vast concentrations in the
  seas

• It is found within the lunar regolith in the
  presence of other minerals

Here
Here
So how do we separate the Helium-3 from all the
other minerals?
Here
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Extracting the Helium-3
Shovel up large sections of the moons surface
with a bulldozer-type machine
Heat the dirt up enough to burn off excess
minerals to release the Helium-3
Repeat millions of times to achieve one tonne of
helium-3 (it is estimated that 200 million tonnes
of lunar soil would have to be processed)
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Transportation of the goods
Launching from moon not as much money
Launching from Earth lots of money
If done correctly, the costs of shipping and
handling will be outweighed by the overall profit
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Why use Helium-3?

• The reaction between Helium-3 and Deuterium
  produces very little to no radioactive waste

• The mining of Helium-3 on the moon would produce
  the necessary compounds that would allow human
  habitation

• Fusion is more efficient than burning fossil
  fuels and does not pollute the environment

• There is plenty of it available on the moon and
  the residing gaseous planets

• 1 ton of Helium-3 can supply a city of around 10
  million people

• There is no fear of a nuclear meltdown in case
  something goes haywire in the plant

• Can fit neatly inside a city without worries

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Problems with Helium-3

• Leading opponents say that it is economically
  unfeasible

• We have enough fossil fuels to last us several
  hundred more years

• The physics for creating a fusion reactor capable
  of handling Helium-3 are still too difficult

• Water as a fuel source is more practical and
  believable in the short run

• The methods at liberating the gas are too
  inefficient and would require lots energy to
  operate