3 ms·

The weird design makes me as a layman skeptical of the tech's potential, but I'd love to hear why I'm wrong: - The randomness and lack of symmetry suggest that

The weird design makes me as a layman skeptical of the tech's potential, but I'd love to hear why I'm wrong: - The randomness and lack of symmetry suggest that we are lacking insight into the problem, like an inelegant physics explanation or an over-fitted model. It's not just that it's complex, but it doesn't even seem to have "parts" that work together. Conceptually fusion seems pretty simple: why in principle does harnessing it require super-human complexity? - If such extreme contortions and micro-optimizations are required to get this far, how much potential can there still be on this path? In software, if you are replacing divisions with bit shifts, maybe you really need a different algorithm. I understand this is just a research project, but if everything is so finely tuned already, how do you make improvements? I don't know anything about fusion power, but those are the intuitions I feel when I see the plasma vessel photo and read how it was designed.

thanksDr 8y ago
It's extremely symmetrical!
- cygx 8y ago
  It's all about the magnetic surfaces. Some pictures: https://images.slideplayer.com/33/10482660/slides/slide_9.jpg https://images.slideplayer.com/33/10482660/slides/slide_9.jp... https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13493/figures/1 https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13493/figures/1 https://imgur.com/gallery/eikBLMX https://imgur.com/gallery/eikBLMX
jimjimjim 8y ago
why state 'I don't know anything about fusion power' but expect that fusion is simple. nothing is simple, nothing is elegant. Everything is hideously complex, we are just standing on the shoulders of giants. e.g. Try making common things that we take for granted, like building a plane or glider or even writing a text editor from scratch (including the font rasterization code and display driver).
adwn 8y ago
> The randomness and lack of symmetry suggest that we are lacking insight into the problem No, it doesn't. > Conceptually fusion seems pretty simple: why in principle does harnessing it require super-human complexity? Because having 2e30 kg ball of hydrogen within a powerplant is extremely unwieldy here on Earth. > In software, if you are replacing divisions with bit shifts, maybe you really need a different algorithm. Huh? If your algorithm says "divide by 4", why would you need a different algorithm.
tlb 8y ago
Plasma dynamics isn't simple. You're trying to confine fast-moving charged particles with a magnetic field. Those charged particles generate their own magnetic field when they move, and that field creates forces on all the other moving charges. Most configurations are unstable, because tiny asymmetries in the shape get amplified.
Dylan16807 8y ago
> Conceptually fusion seems pretty simple: why in principle does harnessing it require super-human complexity? All your useful materials melt at 2000 degrees. The fusion takes place at 20000000 degrees. Mystery solved. (Yes I know these numbers are grossly oversimplified.)

thanksDr 8y ago

It's extremely symmetrical!

cygx 8y ago
It's all about the magnetic surfaces. Some pictures: https://images.slideplayer.com/33/10482660/slides/slide_9.jpg https://images.slideplayer.com/33/10482660/slides/slide_9.jp... https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13493/figures/1 https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13493/figures/1 https://imgur.com/gallery/eikBLMX https://imgur.com/gallery/eikBLMX

jimjimjim 8y ago

why state 'I don't know anything about fusion power' but expect that fusion is simple. nothing is simple, nothing is elegant. Everything is hideously complex, we are just standing on the shoulders of giants. e.g. Try making common things that we take for granted, like building a plane or glider or even writing a text editor from scratch (including the font rasterization code and display driver).

adwn 8y ago

> The randomness and lack of symmetry suggest that we are lacking insight into the problem No, it doesn't. > Conceptually fusion seems pretty simple: why in principle does harnessing it require super-human complexity? Because having 2e30 kg ball of hydrogen within a powerplant is extremely unwieldy here on Earth. > In software, if you are replacing divisions with bit shifts, maybe you really need a different algorithm. Huh? If your algorithm says "divide by 4", why would you need a different algorithm.

tlb 8y ago

Plasma dynamics isn't simple. You're trying to confine fast-moving charged particles with a magnetic field. Those charged particles generate their own magnetic field when they move, and that field creates forces on all the other moving charges. Most configurations are unstable, because tiny asymmetries in the shape get amplified.

Dylan16807 8y ago

> Conceptually fusion seems pretty simple: why in principle does harnessing it require super-human complexity? All your useful materials melt at 2000 degrees. The fusion takes place at 20000000 degrees. Mystery solved. (Yes I know these numbers are grossly oversimplified.)