Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Explained | Dennis Whyte and Lex Fridman

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GUEST BIO:
Dennis Whyte is a nuclear scientist at MIT and the director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

PODCAST INFO:

SOCIAL:

[LexClips]

Guest bio: Dennis Whyte is a nuclear scientist at MIT and the director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

[excellentcomment]

If you've ever changed the diapers of a two-year-old toddler, you've experienced how output can exceed input.

[wtf.iction]

This is HANDS DOWN, the best explanation of the Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough that I have heard to date!!

[BuilderLee]

I always look forward to seeing the Lex clips from the upcoming new podcast as it gives me a flavour of what is to come...
Keep up the amazing work you do Lex and please continue to do so with love in your heart

[benjaminvandusen]

You can really see Lex come alive and has even more fun when he is discussing topics he is excited about

[Chewy]

ive been hearing about fusion breakthroughs for 20 years

[rachit]

woww i didn't understand anything at all!!

[nick.cruikshank]

Fyi don’t know anything y’all said but still a huge fan, an hitting like button anyway because I respect what you stand for! You’re the man dude. 💯

[dustydan]

That microexpression and accompanying reply after lex asked about making a sun just reveals such a sexy absolute understanding of something.

[chrismott]

Does Lex ever ask if this inertial confinement is a loud process? Seems like shrinking something that fast would result in some sort of sonic boom?

[WizardOfCheese]

10:30 really great way of explaining it

[jackmaniscalco]

Great explanation of a complex topic. Thanks Lex.

[j.]

You have the perfect enunciation from the jaw moving guest... and the mumble of the host by his speaking with minimal jaw movement through his teeth. That's one way of making the guest more prominent in a presentation... (just an observation by an immigrant from the host's part of the world)

[johnchristopher]

So it's something like compression ignition, but you use deuterium instead of diesel and lasers instead of cylinder walls and pistons. But smaller and much greater potential energy. And hopefully thermal.

[joowsty]

better to compare the compression to objects entering our atmosphere, for example space rockets re-entering our atmosphere need heat shields. the atmosphere isnt that temperature, but the compression of air makes the object heat up.

[pettread]

Still hear Saskatchewan in Dennis' voice, love that.

[Niaxe]

We're all born from the burst of a star. Now we're at the level of machining the very thing that which brought life. Wild! Curious how theyre solving the problem of containing the power produced from the fusion. Seems like the gravity from stars solves many issues found when trying to recreate one

[plantpotpeople]

I would be interested in hearing you discuss The Safire Project.

[revmatchtv]

So basically we’re 50 years out from a commercial application of this implementation 😂

[liklic]

Wow lex sounds smart as hell talking to this guy. Good stuff