/sci/ - Science & Math

>>12113914
>fusion reactions are still a ways off.
They're getting there
It just took that long because plasma is really unstable
Wendelstein 7-x and ITER both look promising enough

>>12113914
apparenlty the big problem is the dynamic inestabily of the plasma even with the huge magnetic field containing it at the center of the torus the dynamics are just too much to handle (a micro inestability grows eventually ruining the conditions)

and apparently theres more of less corruption involved in the sense that the people get governmental money for working on this and obviously they don't want to see it gone so they are too optimistic even if the results are not good.

here's a interesting vid apparenlty he is right because this technology has not gone anyware in a very long time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBn4lzAo5g8

>>12113914
It's 20 years ahead. ALWAYS.

>>12113936
No really even after Iter and the next gen, the next hurdle will be making it commercially viable. It's a long way off. But might be shortened by advancement in physics like superconducting materials

>>12114470
20 years ago European Greens still tried to shut down fusion research, today they're not as extreme.

>>12114476
>the next hurdle will be making it commercially viable
The goal is 2050
Sounds realistic to me

>>12113914
its pretty hard
neutrons are a bitch

>>12114485
Plenty of Greens do understand that nuclear power is the safest energy. They are against it mostly because if you limit electrical power it help solve dozen of other ecologic problem.

The tiny problem is that other country will never follow since capitalist economy is beneficial to whoever produce the most of roughly everything.

>>12113914
>why is fusion still so far off, why does it take so much time to get a working energy source that basically gives next to free energy?
That's just how things be, the more useful something is the harder it will be to get it to work.

>>12113914
> community is getting wrong or not accounting for.
The only thing they are getting wrong (and this is arguable) is that when idiot layman ask questions they cant say "yeah its going to be like a 100 years realistically" because then they would get absolutely zero funding.

To absolutely no ones surprise it turns out generating, containing, and then profitably exploiting plasma is quite difficult.

>>12114680
>a working energy source that basically gives next to free energy?
Fusion wont be free in any sense of the word. Giant upfront investment, staff, maintenance, distribution, regulations. Just the building, and infrastructure surrounding the reactor will cost a lot to maintain. Parts of the reactor core itself needs to be replaced relatively regularly. Which will be radioactive when they come out, and need to be stored. etc. etc.
Yea, the fuel is relatively cheap, but cost is cost.

However, solar and wind is getting there. The dollar to watt ratio is the best of any energy source as things are now, very low.

>>12114722
You say all that as if it isn't 100 times cheaper and easier than fossil fuels in the long term. Compared to how we've run the world for the past 100 years, yeah it's next to free energy.

>>12114740
That is yet too be seen. We don't even know the from these reactors will take.
Do we actually need ITER sized behemoths to get any viable amount of power from it(enough to cover the initial investment in a reasonable time)? then no, it wont be easier, or cheaper even. (It will be greener in the long term however)

And if that is your requirement for "next to free energy" then we already have that in the form of wind and solar. Makes "free energy" kinda lame.

>>12113914
imagine being the Wright brothers and being 1 year before their first successful flight. Everybody says it is useless to try and that humans will never fly aerodynamically.
ITER in France is like the Wright brothers.
It will not only be a revolution. It will be more. It will be the key to space.

>>12114768
People do it for literally everything, I don't really understand it. It's like the Thunderf00t syndrome, where you think yourself intelligent for "busting" something that hasn't happened yet. No clue what it is in human psychology that propels people to "bust" something instead of encouraging it.

>what is the community get "wrong"
A loose community of thousands of researchers can't be "wrong" or "right". It's not some individual scientist. It might be underfunded, though. Yes. More money, please.

>>12113914
>why is fusion still so pervasive
you mean research? because fusion releases way more energy than fission does, because it would solve all of our energy problems if we had it perfected. because research is happening everywhere, about everything

>>12113914
>Why is fusion still so pervasive

The ability to control and create FIRE allowed mankind to conquer planet
The ability to create and control a FUSION reaction allows mankind to conquer space

Fusion is second only to fire in importance to mankind

>>12114485
In principle I agree with the greens, but man are they goddamn retarded. Oh boy, lets shut down new and existing nuclear power plants even though they are, at the very least were from 1950-2010, the only feasible form of power that won't introduce any significant amount of greenhouse gasses.

>>12113914
The first electric motors were built in 1740s but only became practical for work in 1832.
The first photovoltaics were developed back in 1839, but only thanks to space money in the 60s they became viable technology to get energy.
The idea of Fusion Reactors was developped in 1946, in the 90s we made the first viable fusion reactions. We are expecting net-gain fusion reactions by the 30s, the timescale is nothing to sneer at.

>>12114927
Eh, I'm putting artificial intelligence as the most important and dangerous technology mankind need to develop.
Wether it happen before or after easy-Fusion is another affair.

>>12113914
fusion is a meme created by experimental physicists, they wanted billions for oversized plasma experiments so they pretended fusion would work, essentially it's a scam

>>12113914
fusion is making steady progress, main problem is large reactor sizes (slowing down investment and research)

>>12113914
lol just run plasma simulations and build the design that works??? scientists are fucking dumb

>>12113914
What really irks me is that they spend billions and take decades to build these things then they run it for a few years only to say
>Yeah we saw something fusion-like for a fraction of a millisecond that produced 2% of the energy we put into the system so this experimental reactor was a success! Let's build the next one!

>>12113914
hey guise

I had a crazy idea

what if

fusion only works in strong gravitational fields?

>>12116061
Fusion Bombs proof you wrong, we also have functional fusion reactors, the issue is that we need fusion that works better than the sun and have a net gain from it.

>>12116061
>>12115340
/x/

>>12116061
Fusion isn't hard, anyone with a vacuum pump and a dc power supply can build a fusor in their garage.
Self-sustaining fusion is the hard part.

>>12115340
well if fusion couldn't work then I guess you wouldn't mind me dropping a hydrogen bomb on your ass

>>12113954
>I have no idea what I'm talking about
see
>>12114489
no currently known material can withstand the constant raping from neutrinos. And periodically replacing the walls is not feasible due to the horrific levels of radiation

You don't have much longer to wait.

>>12116617
ah yes, the devastating power of neutrinos

I am telling all of you to prepare your anuses. >>12116635 is all you should need to see to realize that the timeline is short. There's no stopping the next black swan event in energy....I can't wait.

Lockheed Martin and MIT/SPARC will build functional fusion reactors within the next five years

I heard et's were abducting kids in Russia and taking them to schools on boards crafts and teaching them mathematic formulas for portals and how to see auras math that's like 200 years ahead of it's time then bringing them back home

ITER has a shitty multi national organization, a lot of money and time is wasted on some (every) countries trying to scam each other into receiving more benefits at less cost