3 ms·
What I'd like to know is what design or material changes were required to reach this benchmark? The picture of the fusion chamber is still the same torus donut
by fouc 5y ago
What I'd like to know is what design or material changes were required to reach this benchmark? The picture of the fusion chamber is still the same torus donut shape as the ones from the 90s.
- iaw 5y agoI believe the issue is that the surrounding materials of the torus in the TOKAMAK become highly radioactive due to neutron bombardment and decay accordingly. IIRC, there is some sort of Silicon Carbon based material that need to be economically feasible to manufacture (that can withstand a fair amount of neutron bombardment without crumbling like other materials) before a plant will ever make sense. There may be alternative materials but none of them are cheap enough to build a long-term TOKAMAK even if we could achieve the incremental net power necessary for a power plant.