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Re:US Department of Energy: Fusion Ignition Achieved by LarryMullins on Tuesday December 13, 2022 @04:40PM (#33976279)
That's just the lasers, the rest of the plant needs power too. Big water pumps are big power hogs, as is the rest of the supporting equipment that any power plant requires to operate. Far over "wall plug" break even is required for commercial viability.
Re:US Department of Energy: Fusion Ignition Achieved by ncfausti on Tuesday December 13, 2022 @06:29PM (#33977809)
Just bootstrap a second fusion power plant with the first, then continue on, similar to how compilers for a language can be written in the language itself.
Re:US Department of Energy: Fusion Ignition Achieved by LarryMullins on Thursday December 15, 2022 @01:50PM (#34003872)
Bootstrapping the power plant isn't the problem. The economics of the power plant are the problem, naming producing a worthwhile surplus of power, after accounting for all the power needed by the plant itself.