Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: New magnetic fusion technology could be ready in 5 years [View all]intaglio
(8,170 posts)It has just got bigger
Second, no-one has yet generated 1 milliWatt of usable electrical energy from a fusion source, they have just produced more heat energy than they have put in. There are no current plans in place for any method of transferring that heat to where they can use it. What is more there are immense practical problems to extracting that heat as any movement of even a minimally conducting fluid will interfere with the electrical and magnetic fields that contain the plasma. Additionally as superconducting magnets are used you have to keep the working fluid separated from the very low temperature cooling fluid.
Third, not one of these devices has run for more than minutes producing the energy, and any usable fusion reactor will have to run for years without interference. It is highly unlikely, given the fact that the walls of these devices erode due to plasma not contained within the fusion zone, that they can run for years. Much of this errant plasma is absorbed but the coconuts used to make this specific activated charcoal are a limited resource barely able to supply current research reactors.