7 ms·
The tl;dr of this is that if the Wendelstein works, and works well, we're potentially only a few years away from building a fusion reactor that generates large
by mabbo 11y ago
The tl;dr of this is that if the Wendelstein works, and works well, we're potentially only a few years away from building a fusion reactor that generates large amounts of clean power at extremely low cost.
If it doesn't work, well, they'll keep trying.
It's like when SpaceX landed that rocket over the ocean (without a barge) then let it crash- if they succeed, the cool stuff comes next.
- celticninja 11y agoim not sure they let it crash, i think that bit was an accident.
- maxerickson 11y agoThey didn't stick a barge under it for the early tests: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9_booster_landing_tests#Ocean_water_test_descents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9_booster_landing_tests...
- maaku 11y agoDifferent event.
- petra 11y agoBetween this, and moltex , which claims to have designed an intrinsically safe molten-salt nuclear reactor same capital costs of coal, hence cheaper than coal , the future of clean energy look bright.
- mng2 11y ago>we're potentially only a few years away The press loves to hype this sort of thing but I think if you talk to most scientists in the field they'll be much more circumspect about getting to commercial fusion. Personally I think it's at least twenty years out, and that's if everything goes well, which it will not.