Re:China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ achieves fusion breakthrough
by kybernetikos on Friday November 11, 2016 @05:00AM
(#12929313)
The Manhattan project took place over about 5 years. The US has been investigating fusion since at least the 40s.
ITER is also an international effort, funded by 36 countries, not just the US. The US also withdrew from funding it for 6 years in 2000 so I don't know what its total involvement will be, but so far it will be well short of its involvement in the Manhattan project.
I agree that the money that should be invested in fusion shouldn't all be spent on a single approach though.
Re:China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ achieves fusion breakthrough
by Glauc on Friday November 11, 2016 @07:10AM
(#12929921)
ICF is also funded, though it has its fair share of problems.
Re:China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ achieves fusion breakthrough
by neutronicus on Friday November 11, 2016 @11:48AM
(#12932255)
> least half a dozen possible ways Fusion could be achieved commercially
What? There's like two Magnetic Confinement schemes (Tokamak and Stellarator), and one Inertial Confinement scheme.
At least, I was just at a Plasma Physics conference and that's all I saw there...
Re:China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ achieves fusion breakthrough
by tonyedgecombe on Friday November 11, 2016 @01:36PM
(#12933029)
ITER is already 9 years late, these big projects have a tendency to get completely bogged down under their own weight.
If I was a gambler I'd put money on one of the privately funded projects succeeding first.
The problem with trying to solve something like this by throwing money at it too early, is what if the technological approach chosen doesn't work out? The more money you put into it, the more you would waste. Right now there at least half a dozen possible ways Fusion could be achieved commercially, but we don't know which one(s) will pan out. Even then, to be viable some of them may require the development of enabling technologies we haven't even thought of yet. So yes they are worth pursuing, but on the basis of a measured assessment of cost and benefit.