3 ms·
It sounds like the author of the article is really confused, or is just trying to kick up dust. The included screenshots from the ITER website don't claim what
by cafxx 5y ago
It sounds like the author of the article is really confused, or is just trying to kick up dust.
The included screenshots from the ITER website don't claim what he says they are claiming. And note that he carefully avoids pointing out that in the same screenshots there are phrases that explicitly say that ITER won't be used to produce power. A simple visit to Wikipedia[1] should have been enough to understand this.
Sure, a naive reader may fail to grasp what the "50MW in, 500 MW out" claim refers to... but I would also argue such a naive reader is probably not interested in the inner workings of nuclear experiments. That's why for such readers it's always spelled out that the experimental reactor won't actually produce electric power.
Frankly speaking, this article seems a blatant attempt to gaslight readers that may not be familiar with what an experimental reactor is supposed to be, or how it's supposed to work.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER#:~:text=As%20a%20research%20reactor%2C%20the%20heat%20energy%20generated%20will%20not%20be%20converted%20to%20electricity%2C%20but%20simply%20vented https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER#:~:text=As%20a%20research....
- Isinlor 5y agoI was misinformed on ITER as well. Based on popular science, my understanding was that they actually intend to produce some small amount of energy. I would not be surprised if journalists and politicians were similarly misinformed. E.g. CNBC: > ITER, a $22 billion dollar international megaproject in the south of France, is the best-funded fusion endeavor, paid for by the governments of its seven member nations. It hopes to be the first to demonstrate the viability of fusion by generating more energy than it consumes. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/01/the-22-billion-iter-megaproject-aims-to-make-nuclear-fusion-a-reality.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/01/the-22-billion-iter-megaproj... NewScientist: > ITER will be the largest fusion reactor yet once it is complete, with 2025 the current end goal. Engineers working on the project aim to make it the first reactor that will provide more energy from fuel than is required to sustain the fusion reaction – the plan is to create 500 megawatts of usable energy from an input of 50 megawatts. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2280763-worlds-most-powerful-magnet-being-shipped-to-iter-fusion-reactor/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2280763-worlds-most-pow...