Wendelstein 7-X – a fusion reactor with a twist

Re:Wendelstein 7-X – a fusion reactor with a twist by onion2k on Friday October 23, 2015 @03:33AM (#10437314)

I'm always amazed and impressed by the people who work on these giant projects. To do all that engineering without really knowing if it'll even work in the end must require a huge amount of confidence in both yourself and the rest of the team.

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Re:Wendelstein 7-X – a fusion reactor with a twist by Faint on Friday October 23, 2015 @08:46AM (#10438217)

Confidence, or conscious willingness to take steps to unknown (will to explore)?

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Re:Wendelstein 7-X – a fusion reactor with a twist by dest on Friday October 23, 2015 @04:11AM (#10437406)

Furthermore, if the technology works eventually, you may already be retired (if not passed away!) In my opinion, the motivation rather comes from the fascinating scientific questions behind those projects. Whether it works as an industry may be "just a plus". Disclaimer: did a phd in tokamaks / experimental data crunching

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Re:Wendelstein 7-X – a fusion reactor with a twist by adrianN on Friday October 23, 2015 @04:32AM (#10437468)

Well, even if it ends up not working, you learned a lot along the way. Ambitious engineering efforts are never completely wasted.

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