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So just to fantasize for a bit, Suppose fusion power becomes a thing, and after handwaiving some issues let's assume it can power everything indefinitely. Doe

So just to fantasize for a bit, Suppose fusion power becomes a thing, and after handwaiving some issues let's assume it can power everything indefinitely. Does that make things like heating, cooling, travel, ocean desalination, bandwidth, AI, Bitcoin mining, permanently free? Shouldn't all of humanity be homing in on that holy grail? I read here and there that geothermal could be the next best thing. Maybe HN can say more on that. (P.S. terrestrial fusion may also explain why nobody bothers to build Dyson spheres out there)

hdivider 1y ago
In short: yes. It can be done. Clean, almost limitless energy, funded in a way to provide effectively free electricity for ordinary people. Restrictions would have to be in place to prevent true excess, but regulations already handle such matters in other areas. The ambient vibe of our time, and here on HN, is often really pessimistic. I don't believe such pessimism is realistic. Commercial grade fusion power will come, and we should push very hard to make it happen. It will change the equations at the core of the economy and open up whole new paths for technology -- far beyond the pure digital.
seanw444 1y ago
Then some very rich and powerful people become very unrich and unpowerful. And they could never let that happen willingly.
- Razengan 1y ago
  But they'd be able to build their moon castles sooner and control the next frontier in their lifetimes: What's cooler than being a billionaire? A SPACE BILLIONAIRE.
  - Rzor 1y ago
    Assuming that's a development 30-50 years in the making, they will likely be space trillionaires by then.
Ekaros 1y ago
No. There is always some capital and operational costs. Plus transfer. Limit is cost of infra and operations. And the financing costs. So you can get to very cheap, but not free.
gniv 1y ago
By the time we get fusion (say 5 years) the solar+battery solution will be so cheap that it will be preferable to grid electricity (free to produce, expensive to transmit).

hdivider 1y ago

In short: yes. It can be done. Clean, almost limitless energy, funded in a way to provide effectively free electricity for ordinary people. Restrictions would have to be in place to prevent true excess, but regulations already handle such matters in other areas. The ambient vibe of our time, and here on HN, is often really pessimistic. I don't believe such pessimism is realistic. Commercial grade fusion power will come, and we should push very hard to make it happen. It will change the equations at the core of the economy and open up whole new paths for technology -- far beyond the pure digital.

seanw444 1y ago

Then some very rich and powerful people become very unrich and unpowerful. And they could never let that happen willingly.

Razengan 1y ago
But they'd be able to build their moon castles sooner and control the next frontier in their lifetimes: What's cooler than being a billionaire? A SPACE BILLIONAIRE.
- Rzor 1y ago
  Assuming that's a development 30-50 years in the making, they will likely be space trillionaires by then.

Ekaros 1y ago

No. There is always some capital and operational costs. Plus transfer. Limit is cost of infra and operations. And the financing costs. So you can get to very cheap, but not free.

gniv 1y ago

By the time we get fusion (say 5 years) the solar+battery solution will be so cheap that it will be preferable to grid electricity (free to produce, expensive to transmit).