Gregory's Server
@eniko you're right except for the fusion comparison. CCFE finished the break-even research a while back with the MAST upgrade. the world's first energy production fusion plant is being built an hour from my house, right now (I had hoped they'd build it at Ratcliffe, but the shutdown came a couple months too late). so genML doesn't even have that going for it.
@gsuberland
Also, those who say “fusion is always 20 years away” are mistaking objectives of various projects - for example, ITER which is the largest fusion reactor, was never intended to be a economically viable electricity production facility - it’s a 100% research project. Its results feed plenty of basic science, engineering, material research and many other sectors. But MAST and START are intended to be not only doing fusion (we know how to for a long time) but also do it in an economically profitable way, which is yet another and entirely separate challenge.
P.S. ITER goes “first plasma” in 2025 if I’m not mistaken, so it’s not really “always 20 years away” :)
@eniko
@gsuberland
Also, those who say “fusion is always 20 years away” are mistaking objectives of various projects - for example, ITER which is the largest fusion reactor, was never intended to be a economically viable electricity production facility - it’s a 100% research project. Its results feed plenty of basic science, engineering, material research and many other sectors. But MAST and START are intended to be not only doing fusion (we know how to for a long time) but also do it in an economically...