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That statement doesn't really make any sense. The expense of producing "fuel" for fusion is much lower than fission, and the improved safety profile means the a
by avalys 1y ago
That statement doesn't really make any sense. The expense of producing "fuel" for fusion is much lower than fission, and the improved safety profile means the actual realized engineering costs will also be lower.
Yes, in theory, if you could convince the world to accept thousands of new fission plants, you could probably get the cost pretty low, and that low cost would be pretty close to the same outcome for fission. But, good luck with that! Fusion has a much better chance of actually achieving the theoretical long-term economics of fission.
- s1artibartfast 1y agoThe cost of fission fuel is already miniscule.
- avalys 1y agoMinuscule sounds like a good lower bound to me! What’s the problem then?
- tuatoru 1y agoThe cost of Ph. D.s to operate the fusion reactor, vs the cost of associate degrees to operate a fission reactor. Also, the short life and disposable nature of the fusion reactor vessel - most proposals deal with neutrons by ablating lithium from the inside wall of the reactor vessel. And disposal costs, much more radioactive material to be disposed of than with fission, and it can't be reprocessed into fuel either. Also, the ancillary equipment needed for startup, and for operation, is much more expensive. The list goes on. The more you look, the worse it gets.