… The article admits there are at least some political goals behind the announcement, so it remains to be seen if the development is as much of a milestone as described.
The Department of Energy plans to announce Tuesday that scientists have been able for the first time to produce a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain — a major milestone in the decades-long, multibillion-dollar quest to develop a technology that provides unlimited, cheap, clean power.
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Building devices that are large enough to create fusion power at scale, scientists say, would require materials that are extraordinarily difficult to produce. At the same time, the reaction creates neutrons that put a tremendous amount of stress on the equipment creating it, such that it can get destroyed in the process.
And then there is the question of whether the technology could be perfected in time to make a dent in climate change.
Even so, researchers and investors in fusion technology hailed the breakthrough as an important advancement.
The article admits there are at least some political goals behind the announcement, so it remains to be seen if the development is as much of a milestone as described.
The laboratory confirmed to the FT it had recently conducted a “successful” experiment at the National Ignition Facility, but declined to comment further, citing the preliminary nature of the data.
“Initial diagnostic data suggests another successful experiment at the National Ignition Facility. However, the exact yield is still being determined and we can’t confirm that it is over the threshold at this time,” it said. “That analysis is in process, so publishing the information . . . before that process is complete would be inaccurate.”
Basically, "maybe, we don't know yet, too early to celebrate".
FT reported that the latest experiment used 2.1 megajoules of energy to produce 2.5 megajoules—or 120 percent more than what was needed to create it. However, the data is currently being verified. “Our analysis is still ongoing, so we’re unable to provide details or confirmation this time,” a spokesperson for LLNL told The Daily Beast.
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despite the immense hype surrounding the fusion announcement, this doesn’t mean we’re anywhere close to actually achieving the “holy grail” of clean energy—and, in fact, are still very far away from making fusion a reality.
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“This [experiment] doesn’t mean that electricity from fusion is around the corner,” Dominguez said. “But what this does mean is that there is a physics basis for the work that’s being done in fusion. And we’ve proven now in an experiment that you can get more energy out than energy that goes in.”
Can someone remind me of the way people tend to cheat this number? If I recall correctly hype men in the industry like to take a subset of the equipment in a fusion reaction and analyze the net...
Can someone remind me of the way people tend to cheat this number? If I recall correctly hype men in the industry like to take a subset of the equipment in a fusion reaction and analyze the net energy production of that, rather than the whole facility as you'd expect them to.
You mean, like this? https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63950962 It's still, basically, fair, because it is the actual energy in vs energy out part that needs to scale up (a lot), while...
And although the experiment got more energy out than the laser put in, this did not include the energy needed to make the lasers work - which was far greater that the amount of energy the hydrogen produced.
It's still, basically, fair, because it is the actual energy in vs energy out part that needs to scale up (a lot), while the "maintain the equipment" part won't change much, and in fact should actually decrease at scale.
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The article admits there are at least some political goals behind the announcement, so it remains to be seen if the development is as much of a milestone as described.
Here's the official announcement from the Dept of Energy:
DOE National Laboratory Makes History by Achieving Fusion Ignition
https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-national-laboratory-makes-history-achieving-fusion-ignition
Edit, spoiler alert: The announcement is mostly a bunch of back slapping.
From The Independent:
Basically, "maybe, we don't know yet, too early to celebrate".
Here’s a better article on the (speculation about the) announcement:
Why the U.S. Fusion Energy Discovery Really Is ‘Revolutionary’
https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-the-fusion-energy-announcement-by-the-us-doe-is-revolutionary
Use this link if that one is paywalled.
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Can someone remind me of the way people tend to cheat this number? If I recall correctly hype men in the industry like to take a subset of the equipment in a fusion reaction and analyze the net energy production of that, rather than the whole facility as you'd expect them to.
You mean, like this?
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63950962
It's still, basically, fair, because it is the actual energy in vs energy out part that needs to scale up (a lot), while the "maintain the equipment" part won't change much, and in fact should actually decrease at scale.