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0 points73737373735y ago0 comments

As a layperson, this design seems far too complex to be useful for fast iterative research and ultimately, economic replication.

It reminds me of the principle that one shouldn't start a space travel project that is estimated to take more than x years to complete, because by that time, technological progress will have surpassed its speed and capabilities, and would physically overtake it (the 'wait calculation').

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neltnerb5y ago

Yeah, fusion is not fast to research though, ITER isn't even built yet.

They're all extremely complicated, and while this one is harder to fabricate than a tokamak, fabricating arbitrary geometries is also something we've gotten a lot better at. If this is as complicated as it has to be in order to work as required... well, that's just physics right?

The problem is unnecessary complexity, but whether that's the case here or not is still unclear.

nielsbot5y ago

Maybe that's the weakness of this design. But maybe it can be scaled up.

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