Wendelstein 7-X is a fascinating device and I'm glad it seems to be working so well. The first plasma garnered some attention on here seven months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10710670
The thing with the dream of fusion power is how truly far out it still is, and how thousands of engineering challenges will have to be tackled.
The neutron challenge: Fusion creates A LOT of neutrons bombarding the vessel - that is also why modern nuclear bombs use fission to ignite fusion so that those neutrons in turn boost fission even further. Bombarding any material with lots of neutrons puts a lot of stress on the kit, so it needs to be replaced on a fairly regular basis. Given how difficult it is to assemble the Stellarator design, an industrial replacement process driven by robots (because of the radiation induced by the free roaming neutrons) is decades out.
The impurity/inadvertent cooling challenge: The fusion process is extremely sensitive to any impurities in the fuel, and the slightest inaccuracies in the magnetic field. Once the plasma touches something, it cools of at once, and fusion is over.
There are countless other challenges. I for one am all for still pumping billions into fusion research, cause the next time a meteor hits earth and darkens our atmosphere, our fancy photovoltaic power future will look ... cloudy. What are billions for the world economy as an insurance contract on long term clean energy security.
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 15.8 ms ] threadThe only problem is that the next stage is not occurring until late 2017.
The neutron challenge: Fusion creates A LOT of neutrons bombarding the vessel - that is also why modern nuclear bombs use fission to ignite fusion so that those neutrons in turn boost fission even further. Bombarding any material with lots of neutrons puts a lot of stress on the kit, so it needs to be replaced on a fairly regular basis. Given how difficult it is to assemble the Stellarator design, an industrial replacement process driven by robots (because of the radiation induced by the free roaming neutrons) is decades out.
The impurity/inadvertent cooling challenge: The fusion process is extremely sensitive to any impurities in the fuel, and the slightest inaccuracies in the magnetic field. Once the plasma touches something, it cools of at once, and fusion is over.
There are countless other challenges. I for one am all for still pumping billions into fusion research, cause the next time a meteor hits earth and darkens our atmosphere, our fancy photovoltaic power future will look ... cloudy. What are billions for the world economy as an insurance contract on long term clean energy security.