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The post that was quoted here has been removedITER has gone through a number of engineering advances and will be ready for full power in a couple of decades. As you of course know, ITER is already an international project. There are others like the ST40 reactor in the UK, just proven to also make an extreme temperature plasma.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lockheed-claims-breakthrough-on-fusion-energy1/
This is a fusion reactor that will fit on a large truck and it is getting a nice plasma. This piece seems like a puff piece, no mention of the technology involved, just saying it's a breakthrough, presumably ONLY because of the small size.
One key use of small reactors like this would be in spaceflight, couple a gigawatt or so to a VASIMIR plasma rocket and the solar system will be our back yard. VASIMIR rockets have the potential to get us to mars in a month, 8 times faster than chemical rockets of today, important for the safety of the crew since one solar flare can kill the whole crew if they fly through one. That one month to 40 day journey is based on a constant acceleration of 1/20th of a g, maybe 1/10th of a g, which would hardly be felt by the crew, not enough to stop bone deterioration but a significant improvement on travel times.
Because of constant acceleration, going to Saturn, 1.6 billion Km away roughly, times there would be not a whole lot longer than going to Mars. Fusion reactors are the key to travel around the solar system.
The reactor in China will be welcomed in the science world, and if they get it going for real and on an industrial scale it will greatly reduce greenhouse gasses from China which is one of the largest producers of such gasses along with the US and India of course.
Lockheed says their reactor will be online producing power within a decade. Of course that has to be proven.
Here is a ted talk by a teenager named Taylor Wilson who built a home made fusion reactor in his basement at age 14. I'd say he is Mensa material🙂
https://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_wilson_yup_i_built_a_nuclear_fusion_reactor
As I understand it, the difficulty with nuclear fusion is not getting tritium and deuterium to fuse, just search for "fusor" on YouTube and you can see people doing it in their own garages. Getting a longer burn than anyone else is nice PR but doesn't really advance the field. The problem is that the immense neutron flux from the reaction degrades the tokamak casing, and so there is a materials problem. It would be interesting if they've made progress with that.
Originally posted by @deepthoughtNo, the problem is energy in V energy out, right now no reactor has even broken even much less getting 50 times the energy it took to initiate fusion which is where it gets commercial.
As I understand it, the difficulty with nuclear fusion is not getting tritium and deuterium to fuse, just search for "fusor" on YouTube and you can see people doing it in their own garages. Getting a longer burn than anyone else is nice PR but doesn't really advance the field. The problem is that the immense neutron flux from the reaction degrades the ...[text shortened]... nd so there is a materials problem. It would be interesting if they've made progress with that.
Neutron flux is only one problem, another is turbulence in the plasma which is being researched very intensely.
Originally posted by @sonhouseTake a set of Particles A and quantumly entangle them with a set of Particles B.
No, the problem is energy in V energy out, right now no reactor has even broken even much less getting 50 times the energy it took to initiate fusion which is where it gets commercial.
Take Particle B particles to a separate reactor.
Initiate fusion of Particles A.
Particles B will automatically initiate fusion with no additional energy required.
Ramp up on larger scale for commericial operations.
*Patent pending
Originally posted by @uzlessGood luck with that one. Maybe you will be the next billionaire.
Take a set of Particles A and quantumly entangle them with a set of Particles B.
Take Particle B particles to a separate reactor.
Initiate fusion of Particles A.
Particles B will automatically initiate fusion with no additional energy required.
Ramp up on larger scale for commericial operations.
*Patent pending
Originally posted by @uzlessI don't think quantum entanglement works that way.
Take a set of Particles A and quantumly entangle them with a set of Particles B.
Take Particle B particles to a separate reactor.
Initiate fusion of Particles A.
Particles B will automatically initiate fusion with no additional energy required.
Ramp up on larger scale for commericial operations.
*Patent pending
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Originally posted by @metal-brainOne pesky problem with that theory: Entanglement is usually done at near 0 degrees Kelvin (absolute zero) and just in the last month or so, observing entanglement at room temps.
I don't think quantum entanglement works that way.
It is a rather large step going from even 300 K to 100 MILLION K and expecting to get entangled particles at that temp.
It's just a poop dream.