Will Nuclear Fusion Ever Be Viable?

[ScienceNoob]

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02022-1

Doesn't look promising. But I thought this was the future? If this doesn't work how will humanity get its energy in the long run?

[Old_Geezer]

Of course it will.
Science & engineering is advancing all the time; apparently at an accelerating rate.

[Old_Geezer]

That depends on some nation or nations not wiping out the human race first though.

[davebro]

Tidal energy production could be massive if the engineering problems could be overcome - saltwater environment/silting/etc.

[douglas9401]

All these clever notions of how to generate clean, green electricity aren't much use to us in the short term unless you can convert it to gas and oil to run existing heating and transport.

[davebro]

Doug - any energy can be converted to any other form. Electricity can produce hydrogen to power homes & vehicles.

[Hopkirk]

When I was at school in the 70s my physics teacher thought nuclear fusion power was about 20 years away.
Now it's probably, ooh, perhaps, 20 years away.

[10ClarionSt]

In 1951, one German scientist convinced Juan Peron to give him millions to create fusion power, but it was all a con. See here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huemul_Project

[Peter Pedant]

we keep on getting nearly there

[Peter Pedant]

ooops
yes it doesnt look good at all

[jno]

ah, the energy too cheap to meter. Isn't that the figure known as Hopkirk's Constant, Hopkirk?

[andres]

Well we'd better be quick and do a deal with one of the worlds largest Uranium producers, Kazakhstan. Russia , Japan, France ,India, Canada and China already buy uranium from there.

[Atheist]

There's an awful lot of work going on worldwide; different countries working on different aspects of practical fusion machines, and all working together (despite Brexit and wars). International science and technology organisations are aware of the importance of this issue and are co-operating. They will get there eventually.

[ToraToraTora]

fusion is now pretty routine so I see no reason that it will one day be viable. The main problem at the moment seems to be that it still takes too much energy to get going but they are making strides all the time. I think it will be viable. No idea of time scale though.

[ToraToraTora]

andres 22:16, uranium and other fission materials are not needed for fusion.

[New Judge]

//...worldwide, different countries working on different aspects of practical fusion machines, and all working together (despite Brexit...//

Why "despite Brexit"? Why should worldwide international co-operation on a major project not continue simply because the UK has left the EU? Is the EU the only organisation capable of holding together such a project?

[dustypuss]

We will get there . If we can all stick together.

[Atheist]

NJ; No, the EU is not the only one continuing to work together on worldwide problems. However, I think that the British scientific community is not too happy about the post-Brexit reduction in international co-operation aimed at addressing worldwide issues. I can't give you details off the top of my head,but google might have more info.

[New Judge]

Well I've had a quick look and it seems the UK is still fully involved in a number of scientific projects (despite Brexit). The list includes the "ITER" (Fusion for energy) project:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nuclear-research-from-1-january-2021#:~:text=The%20UK%20will%20remain%20a,ITER%20from%201%20January%202021.

[Atheist]

NJ; I did say that many countries are working together on fusion projects. I did not say that Brexit had stopped all that. I think that the B word might have made you prick up your ears and think that you had heard an anti-B comment.

[New Judge]

Why "despite Brexit" then? If it's made no difference, why mention it? You might as well say despite England losing in the Euro football final last year. Or is it just standard comment when the UK's involvement in an international project continues when many doom mongers suggested we'd be locked out?