Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Nuclear Fusion Real Soon Now

Posted by michael on from the you-betcha dept.

Mr. A. Coward writes "Researchers at the National Ignition Facility are attempting to produce nuclear fusion. They'll focus 192 amplified lasers on a pellet of frozen hydrogen. 'NIF experiments will be the first to create fusion that gives off more energy than it takes in.' That will have to be quite a bit, since it will take 500 trillion watts to ignite the pellet in the first place. The facility has been plagued with delays, and so far only 4 of the 192 lasers have been completed. Researchers believe they will first achieve fusion sometime around 2014."

4 of 604 comments (clear)

  1. I'm sorry but.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    ....10 years from now =! soon.

  2. Re:What was that joke. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    don't you see, they really are close!

    according to you in 1960 they were 20 years away,
    in 1980 they were 20 years away,
    and now they are only 10 years away!!!

    so we...ahhh...only have half the amount of time to wait compared to in the 1960's and 1980's...

  3. re: flying cars by v1 · · Score: 0, Redundant


    That reminds me, how much longer after "real soon" can we expect the Mr Fusion to hit the market?

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  4. Bad time to announce this... by JonLatane · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Is it just me, or is the 25th Anniversary of Three-Mile Island not the best day to make an announcement about a new type of nuclear power that gets heat from a reaction capable of destroying huge regions of the US?

    Just a thought.