4 ms·

> "59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy" means a single burst produced that much. In what sense is that "sustained"? A typical power plant produces that m

by lisper 5y ago

> "59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy" means a single burst produced that much. In what sense is that "sustained"? A typical power plant produces that much energy in less than a second on a continuous (i.e. sustained) basis. Producing 59 megajoules once is basically a joke. It is analogous to detonating a pipe bomb (at a cost of several billion dollars) and claiming that as significant progress towards an internal combustion engine.

rat9988 5y ago
> A typical power plant Fusion power plant aren't typical though
- lisper 5y ago
  Yes, that is exactly the problem. If they are ever going to be commercially viable they need to become typical. 59MJ per cycle isn't going to do you a lot of good if a cycle time is measured in months as is currently the case. You have to get that cycle time down to fractions of a second at this energy level before you even have a chance at commercial viability. 59 MJ is a tiny amount of energy by the standards of commercial power generation.
  - exitheone 5y ago
    I hope you realize that these are research reactors that are not designed to give you a low interval between cycles or produce power. They are meant so clarify some of the open research questions for the likes of ITER/DEMO that will integrate these findings into things that are actually designed to produce a lot more power quicker.
    - lisper 5y ago
      Yes, of course I realize that. I hope you realize that even if they get these research reactors to work (which is far from given) that there will still be a shit ton of work to be done before this technology can be used to produce commercially viable power.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
grogenaut 5y ago
internal combustion engines do this and are basically sustained. integrate over cylinders and time. Aka diesel or gas generators.
- lisper 5y ago
  See this comment for my reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30274449 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30274449

by lisper 5y ago

rat9988 5y ago

> A typical power plant Fusion power plant aren't typical though

lisper 5y ago
Yes, that is exactly the problem. If they are ever going to be commercially viable they need to become typical. 59MJ per cycle isn't going to do you a lot of good if a cycle time is measured in months as is currently the case. You have to get that cycle time down to fractions of a second at this energy level before you even have a chance at commercial viability. 59 MJ is a tiny amount of energy by the standards of commercial power generation.
- exitheone 5y ago
  I hope you realize that these are research reactors that are not designed to give you a low interval between cycles or produce power. They are meant so clarify some of the open research questions for the likes of ITER/DEMO that will integrate these findings into things that are actually designed to produce a lot more power quicker.
  - lisper 5y ago
    Yes, of course I realize that. I hope you realize that even if they get these research reactors to work (which is far from given) that there will still be a shit ton of work to be done before this technology can be used to produce commercially viable power.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

grogenaut 5y ago

internal combustion engines do this and are basically sustained. integrate over cylinders and time. Aka diesel or gas generators.

lisper 5y ago
See this comment for my reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30274449 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30274449