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Wendelstein 7-X Fusion Reactor Produces Its First Flash of Hydrogen Plasma (gizmag.com)

Posted by timothy on from the only-wafer-thin dept.

Zothecula writes: Experimentation with Germany's newest fusion reactor is beginning to heat up, to temperatures of around 80 million degrees Celsius, to be precise. Having fired up the Wendelstein 7-X to produce helium plasma late last year, researchers have built on their early success to generate its first hydrogen plasma, an event they say begins the true scientific operation of the world's largest fusion stellarator.

3 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. This is completely awesome by Kobun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And I wish them godspeed. Energy and information are the fundamental limits of the human condition. Fundamental leaps in either arena will be transformative.

    1. Re:This is completely awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Now all they need to do is put out more energy than they are putting in and we can call it generation.

    2. Re:This is completely awesome by Kobun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Obviously, there's no way fusion results in free energy. First, let us count the advantage it provides:

      * Virtually free & unlimited fuel.

      Now we count some of the impediments:

      * The machine to create fusion needs to be meticulously manufactured.
      * Infrastructure to distribute the power needs to be built and maintained.
      * The very best fusion reaction we currently know about ( p + B ) still generates side-reactions that produce Neutrons. There will be radioactive waste to deal with.
      * Neutron flux means that the difficult to manufacture machine will need ongoing maintenance.
      * The lack of a viable mass-scale superconductor means that many such fusion plants will be needed.

      Neither of these lists are complete, obviously. But I feel that they do an OK job to demonstrate the point.