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Scientists Discover How To Stabilize Plasma In Fusion Reactors

posted by Fnord666 on Monday July 23 2018, @01:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the plasma-conduits dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

Experts were able to simulate the mechanism that stabilizes plasma in fusion reactors. This development could take humankind one step closer to a clean, unlimited source of fusion energy.

So...practical commercial fusion is still 50 years way (just like it's been for the past 60 years), right?

Source: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/232452/20180719/scientists-discover-how-to-stabilize-plasma-in-fusion-reactors.htm

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by urza9814 on Monday July 23 2018, @04:47PM (7 children)

    by urza9814 (3954) on Monday July 23 2018, @04:47PM (#711306) Journal

    There's also the funding question...you can't very well make predictions about what you can build in 50 years without making some assumptions about your annual R&D budget for those same 50 years. These predictions are often made with an assumption of steady funding, but in reality funding has tended to decrease over time. Might be better to measure the time remaining in inflation adjusted dollars rather than years...although hopefully some of the decline in public funding will be overcome as it gets closer to commercialization and therefore becomes more acceptable for commercial research dollars.

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  • (Score: 2) by fritsd on Monday July 23 2018, @05:18PM (6 children)

    by fritsd (4586) on Monday July 23 2018, @05:18PM (#711320) Journal

    Read this and sigh: This is how the richest country in the world behaves:

    https://www.aip.org/fyi/2018/national-academies-panel-warns-against-us-withdrawal-iter [aip.org]

    For years Congress has been haggling over funding for ITER, the international effort to build an experimental fusion reactor in southern France. In 2017, the Senate Appropriations Committee repeated previous years’ calls for the U.S. to end its participation in ITER.

    Since rejoining ITER in 2003, the U.S. has never come close to providing annual contribution levels commensurate with its 9 percent ownership share.

    (emphasis mine)

    Five member nations — China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Russia — have the same ownership share as the U.S., and Coblentz says those countries are pulling their weight. As the host, the EU is paying nearly half of ITER’s cost.

    I don't know why, though. The USA is on the same planet as the rest of us. Fusion could help.

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by DannyB on Monday July 23 2018, @06:27PM (4 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 23 2018, @06:27PM (#711368) Journal

      You are suggesting that the US should pay its fair share like other nations do?

      I can hear it how: letting the government fund fusion development is socialism! (gasp!) But then I could mention Apollo, NHS, NWS, etc

      The US needs to be spending taxpayer money to help charter schools for unfortunate rich children who must attend them.

      --
      For some odd reason all scientific instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from Earth.

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @07:30PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @07:30PM (#711404)

        USA on military matters: Ur not paying ur fair share NATO! Pay up!

        USA on scientific matters: Meh. We'll let the europussies fund it.

        • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday July 23 2018, @07:42PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 23 2018, @07:42PM (#711409) Journal

          USA on military matters: Ur not paying ur fair share NATO! Pay up!

          Money going to US military warmongers.

          USA on scientific matters: Meh. We'll let the europussies fund it.

          They still pay, we benefit without paying.

          It sounds like both are consistent in a selfish kind of way.

          --
          For some odd reason all scientific instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from Earth.

        • (Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday July 24 2018, @12:56AM

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday July 24 2018, @12:56AM (#711504) Homepage Journal

          We did fission, it's their turn.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @08:31PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @08:31PM (#711427)

        But then I could mention Apollo, NHS, NWS, etc

        Those are shameful stains in the history of USofA.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 24 2018, @02:36AM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 24 2018, @02:36AM (#711531) Journal
      And what is supposed to be so magical about ITER that it should have money? It's way too expensive as a test platform for plasma experiments, and it's way too expensive as a demonstrator for a commercial fusion plant. This was known when it was conceived back in the 1980s.

      It since has consumed $14 billion and counting for a project that won't significantly improve our ability to do commercially viable fusion.