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My mistake: I mentioned Sam Altman so people could remember the company: «oh yes the one Sam Altman invested in». «Sam Altman backed» would have been better tha

by joak 4y ago

My mistake: I mentioned Sam Altman so people could remember the company: «oh yes the one Sam Altman invested in». «Sam Altman backed» would have been better than «Sam Altman's» but it didn't fit in the allotted number of characters. I'll be glad to change in the title «Helion fusion» to «Helion Energy fusion company» but title cannot be changed anymore.

bmitc 4y ago
Ah, I didn't even realize you were the submitter. I just used the title as a prompt for commentary on what I discussed. I'll admit that it seems nitpicky, but it's a subtle thing that I think ends up getting repeated everywhere in society. I have even experienced it in companies, where an internal organization would be referred to as "<so and so's> org", and so I would never know what organization they were talking about since it wasn't named, who <so and so> even was because only first name's would be used, and I was left confused as to why an organization made up of hundreds of people was named in the possessive of a single person. Anyway, as an on-topic discussion, Daniel Jassby, formerly of the Princeton plasma physics group, seems pretty unconvinced by Helion's approach in his article Voodoo Fusion Energy. https://engage.aps.org/fps/resources/newsletters/newsletter-archives/april-2019 https://engage.aps.org/fps/resources/newsletters/newsletter-... From what I can tell, any non-tokamak design is basically a research project, whether it is a startup or not. Commonwealth Fusion Systems probably has the most chance in getting to commercial fusion, as it's based on the relatively well-known tokamak design, but it's still a long road ahead.
- joak 4y ago
  Daniel Jassby is kind of a joke in the fusion community. The self appointed expert that says that (almost) all startups in the field are BS. Journalists often cite him to "balance" their article with an alternative view. Tokamaks are a very expensive way of boiling water, and many think it will be hard or impossible to produce electricity at market costs. That's why non-tokamak approaches are followed with interest and hope.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    Small tokamaks are what I think are potentially viable, a la Commonwealth Fusion Systems. Here's a good talk that I think addresses the physics vs engineering approaches to fusion. https://youtu.be/L0KuAx1COEk https://youtu.be/L0KuAx1COEk
    - joak 4y ago
      I do think tomakaks are possible. CFS and Tokamak Energy are getting there fast. But the 50MW shipping container size generator planned by Helion would be really transformative. No need to build near a river to cool. Order from the factory, get delivered, install. https://www.reddit.com/r/fusion/comments/ukeisj/if_polaris_hits_net_electricity_helion_plans_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fusion/comments/ukeisj/if_polaris_h...

by joak 4y ago

bmitc 4y ago

Ah, I didn't even realize you were the submitter. I just used the title as a prompt for commentary on what I discussed. I'll admit that it seems nitpicky, but it's a subtle thing that I think ends up getting repeated everywhere in society. I have even experienced it in companies, where an internal organization would be referred to as "<so and so's> org", and so I would never know what organization they were talking about since it wasn't named, who <so and so> even was because only first name's would be used, and I was left confused as to why an organization made up of hundreds of people was named in the possessive of a single person. Anyway, as an on-topic discussion, Daniel Jassby, formerly of the Princeton plasma physics group, seems pretty unconvinced by Helion's approach in his article Voodoo Fusion Energy. https://engage.aps.org/fps/resources/newsletters/newsletter-archives/april-2019 https://engage.aps.org/fps/resources/newsletters/newsletter-... From what I can tell, any non-tokamak design is basically a research project, whether it is a startup or not. Commonwealth Fusion Systems probably has the most chance in getting to commercial fusion, as it's based on the relatively well-known tokamak design, but it's still a long road ahead.

joak 4y ago
Daniel Jassby is kind of a joke in the fusion community. The self appointed expert that says that (almost) all startups in the field are BS. Journalists often cite him to "balance" their article with an alternative view. Tokamaks are a very expensive way of boiling water, and many think it will be hard or impossible to produce electricity at market costs. That's why non-tokamak approaches are followed with interest and hope.
- bmitc 4y ago
  Small tokamaks are what I think are potentially viable, a la Commonwealth Fusion Systems. Here's a good talk that I think addresses the physics vs engineering approaches to fusion. https://youtu.be/L0KuAx1COEk https://youtu.be/L0KuAx1COEk
  - joak 4y ago
    I do think tomakaks are possible. CFS and Tokamak Energy are getting there fast. But the 50MW shipping container size generator planned by Helion would be really transformative. No need to build near a river to cool. Order from the factory, get delivered, install. https://www.reddit.com/r/fusion/comments/ukeisj/if_polaris_hits_net_electricity_helion_plans_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fusion/comments/ukeisj/if_polaris_h...