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tall_strong_master t1_irx3xn8 wrote

Reply to comment by thegodfatherderecho in UK to build first grid connected Fusion Power plant by noelcowardspeaksout

Not anymore. Its now Z > 1.0, so now its 5 years away from being an engineering problem.

This for d-T fusion needing a steam generator.

In 20 years they may be able to do p-B fusion, which wouldn't need steam and has no radioactive byproducts.

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beatthestupidout t1_irzx9y1 wrote

Not no byproducts, but significantly reduced. You can't control side reactions, however unlikely they are. B11 + He4 (the expected byproduct of p + B11) = N14 + n. There's also a rare p + B11 = C11 + n to watch out for as well.

It's a massive improvement on every reaction shitting out neutrons though, and because the main byproduct is a charged particle you can use direct energy conversion instead of going via steam which means the energy output threshold for viability is around 60% of what it would be otherwise.

*C11, not C12 sorry. That then decays with a half life of 20 minutes back into boron-11.

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