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Re:Tokamak Energy sets a temperature record among commercial... by adhesive_wombat on Sunday March 13, 2022 @07:03PM (#30666642)
IMO, spending 15TJ running a research reactor like JET at full whack for 6 hours (which is actually a lot of test fires) is of greater benefit than burning the better part of half a million litres of diesel moving a single billionaire and his lampreys around a bit.
Re:Tokamak Energy sets a temperature record among commercial... by CSSer on Sunday March 13, 2022 @07:11PM (#30666716)
You taught me a new word today. Props for creative use in context too, I might add.
Re:Tokamak Energy sets a temperature record among commercial... by tiahura on Sunday March 13, 2022 @08:35PM (#30667261)
Is it? We’ve been doing this for what, 30 years and all we really have to show for it is 30 years of hoping that the big breakthrough is 5-10 years away.
Re:Tokamak Energy sets a temperature record among commercial... by adhesive_wombat on Monday March 14, 2022 @03:35AM (#30669456)
Fusion reactor can be thought of in terms of "billions of dollars" away and progress is much clearer.

https://imgur.com/3vYLQmm.png

Integrating the curves is maybe $100 billion. And below a certain level of funding nothing can really be done (you can't build any reactor on $10 and a box of surplus paperclips the IRS donated from pity). The fact we actual got anywhere using the handful of "it's a start" research reactors like JET, which dates to 1984, that could get built is a testament to the scientists and engineers, not a indictment of the field.

Basically, if as much was spent on it as we spent on blowing up poor countries for no real reason (at least $2,000 billion, just for Afghanistan), we'd likely be onto the second or third generation. Or we'd have concluded decades ago that it really can't be done to a five-sigma certainty.

The cynic in me says there's a renewed push for it recently because China has 3 research reactors, the next one (CFETR) is designed to outperform ITER (which China is contributing to) and support research for DEMO (which is to say, it is or is very close to being designed for experimental power generation), and the US feels in danger of being beaten to it.

Re:Tokamak Energy sets a temperature record among commercial... by tiahura on Monday March 14, 2022 @01:22PM (#30675193)
That’s a big assumption that diminishing marginal returns don’t set in at $2B a year or $5 a year.

$500 worth of steroids may let me bench press 200lbs, but it doesn’t follow that with $50,000 I could lift my house.

Re:Tokamak Energy sets a temperature record among commercial... by TaylorAlexander on Sunday March 13, 2022 @10:45PM (#30668016)
We have a lot more than blind hope, if you care to learn about the state of fusion research today.
Re:Tokamak Energy sets a temperature record among commercial... by hypertele-Xii on Sunday March 13, 2022 @09:09PM (#30667453)
30 years is less than a fraction of an eyeblink in human history.