Exploring Why This Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Matters

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[laudermarauder]

Joking aside, this game-changing breakthrough potentially brings nuclear fusion forward from 30 years away to as little as three decades away.

[joseureste]

I love how all of this magnificent science always leads to boiling water lol

[wyattbrule]

I helped in the manufacturing of the large stainless steel vacuum chambers that contain the high temperature superconductors for MIT 👍 - Welding Inspector here.

[jayrobertson]

I’ve been following the R&D of nuclear fusion, both magnetic and laser containment, since the late 1970’s. This breakthrough in superconducting magnets may be what we’ve all been waiting for. Thank you

[jessielopez]

Old enough to remember back when "fusion reactions" were mostly wildly complex formulas on a professor's blackboard. You can tell it's getting more real now that the story is shifting from large, expensive, multi-national experimental concept reactors to an actual startup developing a more practical design. The recent breakthrough was a big step in that direction, but it's going to take several more big steps like that to shed the "30 years away" label.

[ct]

I've never been one of the cynics, mainly because I understand how important materials development is in a bigger project like this, and that we're making breakthroughs almost every month in one way or another. As this story shows, something created in the 1980s is now being used in a new way thanks to developments in application and manufacturing. It takes a million small discoveries to reach a major breakthrough.
I'm convinced we'll get there.

[johnjoyce]

Thanks for the great news. My Dad was an engineer at the Plasma Physics Lab at Princeton University. They built several fusion reactors as I was growing up starting with the C Stellerator and ending up with a Tocamac. The Tocamac reached what was called break even back then in about 1979. The the lab was a joint venture with Princeton, DOE and Westinghouse as I remember. When Three Mile Island melted down the funding for the lab started drying up. The supper conducting materials and the ability to create better vacuum in the chamber were the big obstacles at that point. It is great to hear MIT is making progress on the magnets. Maybe with YouTube’s like this we can have a better public understanding of the difference between fusion and fission. If the fusion work at the Plasma Physics lab had continued there would be fusion generators producing carbon free electricity right now! That was about 30 years ago. Keep up the good work! John Joyce

[urphakeandgey]

I love how as advanced nuclear energy is, it's basically just a steam engine with extra steps.

[KarlMiller]

Thank you so much Matt for asking me about my opinion on whether this fusion breakthrough will be a game changer. In my whole career in retail, nobody has ever asked me my opinion on nuclear fusion issues. I know the world will be a much better place, and nuclear fusion can now advance much faster with the disclosure of my opinion (since I am exquisitely qualified to comment on the subject matter as a retail worker and youtube video watcher).
My opinion is :
Looks good to me.

[taterkaze]

"there have been some electrifying breakthroughs" - Matt just can't help himself.

[PCUSE]

As a science fiction nerd who read Analog and Galaxy magazines as a teenager in the 1970s, many things were supposed to take place in 30 years, Cold fusion, Moon Colonies and a New ice age. At 65, i most likely don't have another 30 years to wait for these things.Controlled Fusion is like Lucy moving the football on Charlie Brown.

[Gatora]

I worked as a contractor on TFTR Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, twice in the 80's. DOE was great to work for and the project was great fun. Lots of very smart people working there (do to its contercycle funding) we called it the technological WPA)

[MaverickBlue]

When I was a kid in the 90's teachers joked that fusion was always 50 years away, so we're making _some_ progress

[heavypen]

When I think of fusion, I think of the scope of the engineering and the supportive science. When we finally get this, it'll be one helluva party. Hope I'm around to witness.

[daviddiffenderfer]

I have been involved with fusion since the early 1960's at LLNL. MFTF, NOVA, Shiva, NIF, ITER, and believe fusion is our only option for the future. I have no idea about 30 years but it will come!

[jwnrocks]

Thanks for the update on this effort. Over 35 years ago I had the opportunity to join a SDSU field trip to visit the tokamak experiment at General Atomic in San Diego. I was thoroughly blown away, and hopeful for this technology to advance. I’m happy to hear that major strides are being made, and I await my Mr. Fusion powered Back to the Future DeLorean someday soon…

[Entropyko]

I am very happy you are being honest about Q and the actual efficiency of the whole facility.

[Real_MisterSir]

I tend to be of this mindset: As long as a scientific field sees regular improvement that corresponds with theoretical goals, then I am optimistic. If a field sees significant stagnation for long periods of time, then there is cause for concern.

Any scientific innovation will be "always 30 years ahead" until it one day finally exists and functions as intended. That's just the nature of working with unpaved paths and no known variables to adhere to. In reality, no one knows when we will see commercial fusion reaction - but we see regular exponential improvement and that is a damn good sign. And don't forget, that along the way, all this research will also trickle down into other fields that find use in the same research and proofs of concept - just see how much technology developed for Aviation and Space exploration has found their way into our daily lives through totally unrelated contexts. Innovation is never wasted, no matter the field.

[jdefayette]

There was no runaway chain reaction at Fukushima. There were cooling problems leading to radioactive decay overheating. Similar to TMI.

The Soviets, on the other hand, gave us prompt criticality inside a coal bed. One big spark that lit the whole plant on fire.

[tomsimon]

I've been fortunate enough to be very close to what I call "big science'" my entire career, the publicly funded fusion experimental machines MFTF for a few years, the SLAC upgrade from LINAC to rings, then the National Ignition Facility from design through commissioning, and into operations. Noteworthy physics and engineering breakthroughs aside, the big question for me is this: Will private investors maintain the motivation and 'have the stomach' to forge past the latest challenges, will project leadership be able to constantly 'sell it' to keep funding pouring in? If not, then the technology isn't quite ready for this next privately funded phase.