Nuclear physicist explains why fusion ignition is hailed as a major breakthrough

Re:Nuclear physicist explains why fusion ignition is hailed ... by thereddaikon on Monday December 19, 2022 @09:54AM (#34052741)

I'd argue Q>1 isn't worth a press conference either. People care about commercial power generation and that needs more like Q>150.

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Re:Nuclear physicist explains why fusion ignition is hailed ... by throwawaymaths on Monday December 19, 2022 @10:52AM (#34053476)

Depends on the device. Q_plasms > 150 iirc is the estimate for MCF fusion. The NIF lasers take in way more energy than they put into the pellet, so that I think you want something like Q_plasma > 10,000 iirc.

Iirc most engineers use a different Q, which refers to all in energy, so Q > 1.5 ish is enough

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