Fusion power has been getting closer — no really — for a long time.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ll be ecstatic when / if it arrives, especially if it does so with sufficient lead time to be relevant within my lifetime, but no number of “we’ve halved the distance to the wall again” articles will get me excited (or us there).
A comparison to Zeno's paradox isn't quite apt, because fusion power can (in this metaphor) go very far beyond the wall.
I think it's better to think of it this way: are you a lay person not in the field? Then most of this work doesn't matter to you. But you should keep funding it.
The wall, in this case, is power positive sustained (and contained) reaction. Fusion power doesn’t exist and can’t do a damned thing until that wall is reached. Once it’s reached I’ll admit we’ve no practical idea where the next wall is going to be.
And yes, absolutely, fund baby fund, keep making those Zeno steps… just don’t write another article promising me that fusion / Jetson cars / AGI / Unobtanium is nearly here.
> power positive sustained (and contained) reaction. Fusion power doesn’t exist and can’t do a damned thing until that wall is reached
Did we read the same article? Helion's entire design strategy is to sidestep sustaining fusion plasmas. It's unclear if it will work. But it's theoretically sound. Your wall is a chain-link fence.
A tire burst on takeoff, circled, landed safely.
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