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0 pointsQAPereo8y ago0 comments

Some, but not all, especially not the issue of fast neutrons turning whatever your make your reactor out of, into crumbly crap. Now, I know that some people are placing bets on forms of aneutronic fusion, but realistic forms still produce enough neutrons to ruin metal, that's just not their primary means of transmitting energy. Worse, they require temperatures/pressures far in excess of what's realistic any time soon, except possibly for very brief bursts in the lab.

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ZenoArrow8y ago· 3 in thread

> "I know that some people are placing bets on forms of aneutronic fusion, but realistic forms still produce enough neutrons to ruin metal"

What makes aneutronic fusion unrealistic?

https://lppfusion.com/lppfusion-publishes-world-record-fusio...

"Hydrogen-boron fuel, also called pB11, is an ideal fuel, producing no neutrons, and no radioactive waste. Its energy can be converted directly into electricity, potentially greatly reducing energy costs below that from any existing source. Both hydrogen and boron are abundantly available. But the fuel needs extremely high ion energy—temperature—to burn. The new results demonstrate that FF-1 has achieved the energies needed to burn pB11 fuel."

pas8y ago

The problem is funding. Lack of funding makes it unrealistic.

There are these small teams and they amass a lot of very specific knowledge about a certain, very particular type of fusion, and ... then they fizzle out financially. Or just burn out psychologically.

Or not. I might be too pessimistic.

And eventually we'll figure it out.

There are incremental gains every year. ITER is "growing" every day: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzwQDDag5eP4Rs-2d4nX5g

QAPereoOP8y ago

But the fuel needs extremely high ion energy—temperature—to burn.

That’s the killer caveat.

ZenoArrow8y ago

The line that follows indicates why this may no longer be a problem (for the FF-1 at least):

"The new results demonstrate that FF-1 has achieved the energies needed to burn pB11 fuel."

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