France runs fusion reactor for record 22 minutes
France runs fusion reactor for record 22 minutes
France has upped the ante in the quest for fusion power by maintaining a plasma reaction for over 22 minutes – a new record. The milestone was reached on February 12 at the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) WEST Tokamak reactor.
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This is cool but also remember the practicalities of Fusion make it not much better than nuclear:
Well nuclear is great, so even "not much better" would be great.
Yea one of the most interesting applications of fusion reactor research is the requirements in advancements for material science also benefits fission and even solar power generation, so the research bears fruit well and above the stated goals.
not to say its the greatest form of energy production ever, but, what are your gripes with nuclear these days anyway?
None! My comment may be misunderstood.
If you're of my generation you kind of grew up being told fusion energy was the holy grail of energy production as it's clean and doesn't produce a bunch of radioactive byproduct. (Stuff like SimCity etc. made fusion reactors seem like a miracle technology)
In reality fusion also produces a massive amount of radiation and radiative byproducts, so it's not the holy grail of energy that I think most people might assume it is.
Fusion and Fission are two sides of the same coin, so fusion experiments are important because they aid in making fission reactors safe as well!
I'm especially looking forward to seeing how material scientists attempt to solve the massive fast neutron radiation that fusion reactors produce, as Thorium reactors have the same issue.
Well, really it's the opposite, nuclear works already. So why not just build nuclear plants at 1/20 the cost? (and actually get some net positive energy)
Just saying...
this (specific project) isn't about harvesting energy..
I understand that, it can't be. Because fusion power generation hasn't all been worked out yet. Unlike fission. That's my point.
Also, once fusion does work, it will still be the most expensive way to generate energy man has ever devised, so there's that too.