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Old 12-13-2022, 09:50 AM
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rickair7777
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Default US DOE Fusion "Breakthrough"

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/13/11422...climate-change

This is getting a lot of media attention, but I feel compelled to point out that it's much less of a breakthrough and more of a milestone.

We have been close to or right at break-even energy production in a fusion core for some time, now we're a little further along, clearly on the right side of the Q (fusion energy gain) scale. Looks they got Q = 1.4 ish (Q =1.0 is breakeven).

But to produce viable commercial power output you'd need a Q value well above break even, maybe 20-40? The ITER project is shooting for Q =10, but their goal is fusion core science not actual energy production.

There are also ideas which would capture fusion energy via the magnetic fields used to contain it, basically extract electrical power directly out of the core which would dispense with the conventional heat capture=>boil water=>spin turbine model. This might work commercially with a lower Q. Specifically Helion corporation's concept.
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