Helium 3 wasbrought back to earth from the moon; did it produce any energy?

Question

How do we know if helium 3 is an energy source; have we subjected it to fusion tests or any tests.

Answer 1

Helium 3 is not just found on the moon. It is not especially useful as an energy source (at the moment, anyway, since it takes a bunch of energy to get it to fuse). If we ever did use it in fusion, we would probably just make our own via fusion rather than harvesting it somewhere.

Edit: I love that statement. Fusion power has steadily been 40 years away for about the past 60 years.

Answer 2

Yep, we have carried out fusion tests on helium 3 and discovered its high energy output after fusion. Helium 3 maybe rare on earth but like most things can be manufactured as needed. In this case it is made from the decay of tritium (hydrogen with 2 neutrons and a proton). Tritium itself is easily made from neutron bombardment of lithium or boron.

It is promising, as like most fusion fuels, only a small amount is needed to generate vast amounts of energy, however the energy input for this to occur is still too high for viable electricity generation.

Answer 3

In about 40 years when we figure out how fusion works, it will be an energy source.