Том 192, № 11 (2022)
Articles
Valery Anatol'evich Rubakov (16.02.1955–19.10.2022)
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1185-1186
1185-1186
Conferences and symposia. Forum "Uspekhi-2021": climate change and global energy issues
Preface to the special issue of the journal “Physics-Uspekhi” (“Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk”), dedicated to the publication of the materials of the forum ‘USPEKHI-2021’
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1187-1189
1187-1189
Forum ‘USPEKHI-2021’: Climate change and global energy issues (Joint Scientific session of the Physical Sciences Division, Chemistry and Materials Sciences Division, Division of Earth Sciences and Division of Energetics, Machinery, Mechanical Engineering and Control Processes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, January 19, 2021)
Аннотация
19 January 2021, under the auspices of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), a Joint Scientific session of the Physical Sciences Division, Chemistry and Materials Sciences Division, Division of Earth Sciences and Division of Energetics, Machinery, Mechanical Engineering and Control Processes of the Russian Academy of Sciences — “Forum ‘USPEKHI-2021’: Climate change and global energy issues” took place.Joint Scientific session was held in the videoconference mode (for the Announcement and the full record of the Forum see https://ufn.ru/ru/articles/2021/1/a).The participants of the videoconference were addressed by the Forum Co-Chairs:Sergeev A M (Co-chair, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation) “Welcoming the participants of the Forum ‘USPEKHI-2021”’;Tajima T (Co-chair, Norman Rostoker Chair Professor, University of California, Irvine, USA) “Opening speech”;(1) Semiletov I P (Head of the Arctic Research Laboratory, Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation) “Coupling between climate change and permafrost thawing in the Arctic land-shelf system: current understanding”;(2) Drobinski P (Research Director, Ecole Polytechnique of France, France) “Integrating climate variability and change in renewable energy planning”;(3) Rignot E (Donald Bren Professor, Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, USA) “Impact of global warming on sea level and solutions”;(4) Ismagilov Z R (Scientific Director, Federal Research Center for Coal and Coal Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation) “Local and Global Climate change impact of coal mining, storage, transportation, processing and power generation”;(5) Mackey K (Assistant Professor of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, USA) “Our Changing Oceans: exploring causes, consequences, and solutions”;(6) Li N (Managing Director, Transform Insight Partners, USA) “New paradigm for civilian nuclear energy —perspectives from energy hierarchy and fundamental safety”;(7) Kalmykov S N (Acting Dean of the Chemistry Department, Moscow State University, Russian Federation) “Novel strategy for nuclear energy generation”;(8) Binderbauer M (Tri Alpha Enterprises, CEO, USA) “Fusion energy solutions”;(9) Weeks A (Director General, The Extreme Light Infrastructure, Belgium) “Sustainable research and operations at the extreme light infrastructure: meeting the challenges of the 21st century at Europe's large-scale laser facility”;(10) Tajima T (Norman Rostoker Chair Professor, University of California Irvine, USA) “East meets West again in order to tackle the global energy crises”.Published below in this Special Issue (Phys. Usp. 65 (11) 1113–1208 (2022); Usp. Fiz. Nauk 192 (11) 1185–1296 (2022)) are articles written on the basis of reports 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10.
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1190-1190
1190-1190
Integration of climate variability and climate change in renewable energy planning
Аннотация
The trajectory outlined in the Paris Agreement to keep global warming below 2 $^\circ$C dictates not only the timing but also the speed at which the transformation of our energy system must take place to decarbonize energy production. Complying with the Paris Agreement requires reducing the carbon content of energy by about 75 % and therefore making a rapid transition from fossil production to production based on low-carbon technologies. Among these technologies are those based on renewable energies. The variability of the climate itself induces a fluctuating or even an intermittent production of variable renewable energy (solar, wind, marine), challenging the balance of the electricity grid. In this context, to speak of energy transition is to face the problem of increasing the penetration of low-carbon energy production while limiting the variability so as to ensure the socio-technical feasibility and economic viability. The problem is not simple, and the delicate balance between urgency (drastically reducing emissions) and utopia (choosing a strategy for low carbon energies and analyzing opportunities and obstacles) needs to be clearly defined.
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1191-1202
1191-1202
Sea level rise from melting glaciers and ice sheets caused by climate warming above pre-industrial levels
Аннотация
The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, combined with glaciers and ice caps around the world, are contributing faster and sooner than expected to global sea level rise. Half a century of observations, physical models, and paleoclimate records suggest that sea level rise will exceed 1 meter this century, but more extreme rates of sea level rise can not be ruled out. I review the current state of knowledge on ice sheet and glacier mass balance, its driving physical mechanisms, their impacts on future sea level rise, and whether the most vulnerable sectors of Antarctica and Greenland have passed, or will soon pass, a point of no return. In several sectors of Greenland and Antarctica, I conclude that multi-meter sea level rise is inevitable, but the rate of sea level rise will depend on how urgently we keep climate warming under control and subsequently bring the climate system back toward pre-industrial levels. To reduce the uncertainties of projecting rapid rates of sea level rise in the coming century, significant research investments will be required, orders of magnitude lower than the cost of adapting to sea level rise, to obtain critical observations and develop more reliable atmosphere-ocean-ice coupled models.
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1203-1213
1203-1213
Catalytic methods of converting carbon dioxide into useful products to reduce the impact of coal generation on global climate change
Аннотация
Coal generation is one of the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions and makes a significant contribution to global climate change. In general, to curb global warming and to transition to a carbon-neutral economy, it is urgent to develop and improve methods for capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide. The most promising processing methods are those of catalytic conversion of $ CO_2$ into valuable chemical products. This article discusses methods of $\rm CO_2$ utilization, including synthesis reactions of low-molecular compounds (HCOOH, CO, $\rm H_2CO$, $\rm CH_3OH$, $\rm CH_4$) and reactions to obtain high-molecular organic substances (carbamates R$\rm R^\prime$NCOO$\rm R^{\prime \prime}$, carbonates $(RO)_2CO$, carboxylates RCOOH). The results of research on the creation of a number of effective nanosized catalysts for these processes are presented.
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1214-1230
1214-1230
New paradigm for civil nuclear energy. Perspectives from the hierarchy of energy sources and fundamental safety
Аннотация
This paper is a review and treatise extended in scope and based on a presentation made at the Uspekhi Forum on Climate Change and Global Energy. Following a brief overview of the history, status, and outlook of civil nuclear energy to present the key problems and challenges, this energy source is placed in a primary energy hierarchy on Earth with all classes of energy systems based on fundamental forces to reveal its unique characteristics that set civil nuclear energy qualitatively apart. A new paradigm is outlined with a distinct set of safety categories, design principles, and production methods that differ from conventional nuclear power, which leads to a global energy„ system solution for much broader development and deployment at scale in time to help mitigate climate change. Based on concepts and methods from studies of emergent properties in complex adaptive systems, we use a scaling method to analyze nuclear reactor safety and economics, and explicitly relate reactor unit scale, safety limits, and production volume to cumulative cost and capacity. Simultaneous improvement in and optimization of nuclear safety and economics are leading to small modular reactors (SMRs) and micro reactors (MRs) as exemplar technologies of the new paradigm. We show that select SMR and MR designs with deterministic fundamental safety should be manufactured, which can achieve substantial cost reductions as production volumes increase, following Wright's law observed in the majority of proven technologies. The new paradigm offers distinct and testable predictions, some of which have been partially tested, and some of which have surrogate tests from successful technologies and industries, which are also endowed with substantial transferable capabilities and capacities for implementation. The scaling principles and results should be generally applicable to other energy systems and the majority of manufactured goods.
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1231-1274
1231-1274
Solving scientific problems of nuclear power engineering as a source of ‘green’ energy
Аннотация
A way to prevent adverse global climatic change is to essentially alter the strategy of power generation, which is one of the major sources of greenhouse gases. A task of paramount economic importance is to ensure a balance among various energy sources, depending on the social economical features of a particular region. Major industrial regions cannot develop without highly concentrated energy sources, among which nuclear„ energy is actually the only ‘green’ one. However, progress in the nuclear power generation industry and an increase in its share in the total power generation both in Russia and worldwide depend on solving challenging scientific and technological problems related to safe processing of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive wastes. An urgent task is to develop a next-generation nuclear power industry based on a combination of thermal- and fast-neutron reactors, recycling of fissile nuclides, deep fractioning of radioactive wastes with subsequent ‘afterburning’ of long-lived radionuclides, and minimizing deep disposal in geological formations.
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1275-1279
1275-1279
East meets West again in order to tackle the global energy crises
Аннотация
The contemporary challenges of the impacts of human activities such as climate change induced by the increase in $ CO_2$ emissions since the Industrial Revolution have been discussed throughout this Forum ‘Uspekhi-2021’, as have possible approaches to address these issues. Some have discussed nuclear approaches to remedy this situation, both fission-based and fusion-based. One of the challenges of the fission nuclear path is its radioactive spent nuclear waste, which can accumulate for a period longer than civilization has existed. If we recall, the first rapprochement between the East and West in 1955 was due to the desire to avoid nuclear confrontation between the East and West. East and West meet again, this time to find collaborative solutions to the global crises of climate change and other global environmental issues tightly related to worldwide energy issues. The meeting in 1955 launched the peaceful use of nuclear fusion energy, and since then we have witnessed, for example at this Forum ‘Uspekhi-2021’, the culmination of research in this area, like Norman Rostoker's aneutronic fusion approach driven by beam injection. At the previous meeting, Veksler also introduced collective acceleration using plasma to compactify accelerators. We are glad that we can show some of its fruits in the laser wakefield accelerator driving neutrons compactly and efficiently for the purpose of incinerating radioactive nuclear waste of transuraniums. These energy research efforts have also produced a path to follow in order to become carbon neutral or even carbon negative.
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1280-1292
1280-1292
Personalia
In memory of Andrei Alekseevich Slavnov
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1293-1294
1293-1294
Physics news on the Internet (based on electronic preprints)
Uspehi fizičeskih nauk. 2022;192(11):1295-1296
1295-1296