/sci/ - Science & Math

All of this is just patchwork until fusion comes along.

>hurr durr 30 year away

There has been a recent breakthrough in superconducting materials, which enables you to run at a higher magnetic field to confine and compress the plasma. This creates a ripple effect down the design which means that you can build a much smaller reactor with the same output and efficiency.

ITER is basically a dead end since it's way too big to ever become commercial viable, it;ll never be able to produce power at a price competing with fossil fuels or other renewables.

Just watch this video, the guy does a great job of explaining the basics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkpqA8yG9T4