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> They've since had ignition No. Notice how it is worded. > "More importantly, Moses said, the mechanism that generated the powerful energy burst appeared to
by tanzam75 13y ago
> They've since had ignition
No. Notice how it is worded.
> "More importantly, Moses said, the mechanism that generated the powerful energy burst appeared to be the self-sustaining thermonuclear fusion process that defines ignition."
In other words, they did not achieve ignition. They achieved something that is necessary to get ignition. Specifically, alpha heating.
This is another important step on the road to ignition. It is not, however, ignition itself.
Why do you think the title of the article says "Marks Progress Toward Ignition," rather than "Finally Achieves Ignition?"
- bandy 13y agoYou're right. In my head "ignition"=fusion, so I was auto-translating as I was skimming. They're looking for something slightly different, and probably using energy output (among other things) as indications of self-sustained fusion, which we've certainly obtained in bombs (fission explosion sets off fusion reaction ☞ big bada boom).
- bandy 13y agoAnd this seems to hand out a wealth of information as to why they haven't gotten there yet: http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1nxtyb/nuclear_fusion_milestone_passed_at_us_lab/ccn4iwq http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1nxtyb/nuclear_f...