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throwawayfghtyu t1_j0bzpnv wrote

Reply to comment by saltyhasp in Nuclear fusion breakthrough: A physicist answers three vital questions by FarmhouseFan

More than that, the NIF is for weapons research and will never produce electricity and is never planned to. And if we were to break even with energy in/out, our current best way to turn it into electricity is to use the heat to boil water and spin a turbine, which is at most about 33% efficient. So if this reactor meant to break even with electricity it'd need about a 300x improvement. For actual usable electricity at the end, even more.

It's an improvement for sure but the headlines are for bringing in money and generating hype. We are still a good distance away from making fusion viable.

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FarmhouseFan OP t1_j0c45zp wrote

Read the article.

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throwawayfghtyu t1_j0c94qi wrote

I did already... Now can you please explain the point you're making?

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FarmhouseFan OP t1_j0c9f2t wrote

Facility produced this ignition with outdated tech. The goal was not efficiency but simply an ignition. Does that help?

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throwawayfghtyu t1_j0caoze wrote

Is up-to-date tech anywhere near the 300x efficiency needed in comparison to break even? And because this experiment has the most return on input so far, are electricity-geared reactors even further off considering this one is purely for weapons research? I still don't understand the point you're making, is this supposed to be an optimistic viewpoint you're proposing?

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FarmhouseFan OP t1_j0cbs4o wrote

Are you making assumptions about the viability of advancements based on tech you know nothing about? Seems like a bad bet. You also think that this type of advancement can't be used in conjunction with other fusion tech to provide power? Another bad bet. I'm so sorry you hate progress. Have a day.

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throwawayfghtyu t1_j0ccgk7 wrote

I just saw you've had this argument with others and use the same "read the article again" approach and general dismissive attitude toward anyone who doesn't hold the same opinion. Look, you can be optimistic and proud of progress all you want, I think fusion research is great. But you can't buy into the hype train either. We've got a long way to go, and we'll get there a lot sooner if people can actually work together and not be dicks to each other about the actual state of progress thus far. Have a good day.

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FarmhouseFan OP t1_j0ccwhi wrote

Just read the article next time.

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throwawayfghtyu t1_j0cd3a7 wrote

Ugh, such a disappointment. You've really got blinders up for anything other than your own thoughts. I was hoping you might have a sliver of maturity. Oh well.

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