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OptimalConcept143 t1_j09maaj wrote

Reply to comment by badalberts in Fusion energy breakthrough and national security implications explained by TheScienceAdvocate

What's impressive is that they are creating as much energy as the ignition process uses. That's a major hurdle to overcome because up until now it has always taken more energy to run than you get out. It's the last step before making more energy than you need to run it.

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sweller3 t1_j09yds5 wrote

If rhe results are verified -- that the breakeven threshold has been passed -- the last step is actually building a commercial reactor that economically harvests the energy produced. The technology does us no good if it costs too much to build and maintain.

Every 10 years since the 50's the scientists have made breakthroughs and predicted a viable fusion reactor within a decade, so pardon my skepticism...

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Clarky1979 t1_j0a3d7e wrote

I've always heard 20-30 years, every decade, for the last 40 years.

This is a significant development though, net gain is a big step.

Scalability is still the massive hurdle to overcome.

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