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https://theconversation.com/limitless-power-arriving-too-late-why-fusion-wont-help-us-decarbonise-176974>
"I first heard the standard joke about fusion as an undergraduate physics
student in the 1960s: Fusion power is fifty years away – and probably always
will be.
More than fifty years later, we still don’t have fusion. That’s because of the
huge experimental challenges in recreating a miniature sun on earth.
Still, real progress is being made. This month, UK fusion researchers managed
to double previous records of producing energy. Last year, American scientists
came close to ignition, the tantalising moment where fusion puts more energy
out than it needs to start the reaction. And small, fast-moving fusion startups
are making progress using different techniques.
A limitless, clean source of baseload power might be within reach – without the
nuclear waste of traditional fission nuclear plants. That’s good, right?
Not quite. While we’re closer than ever to making commercial fusion viable,
this new power source simply won’t get here in time to do the heavy lifting of
decarbonisation.
We are racing the clock to limit damage from climate change. Luckily, we
already have the technologies we need to decarbonise."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
