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geek66 t1_j1ijcb0 wrote

I generally say nay on the fusion thing, a great mile stone but this is a painfully slow evolution of tech and not a real breakthrough.

I want to make the distinction because fusion IS an incredibly important tech, but publicity as a breakthrough leads people to believe this is much closer than it is.

Basically … when tech news leads people to believe that Tech will save us from GW and not require us to dramatically change our behaviors, well… drives me nuts.

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blueSGL t1_j1j3ypk wrote

it's not 'us' that need to change behaviors, it's corporations.

you can either run around the sprinkler trying to stop every drop from hitting the ground or turn off the tap.

Also the fusion announcement is good. It shows it can work, will increase the spending towards getting a usable product.

Hell the design tested was not even that useful for extracting energy even if they got it pulling more 'from the wall'. There are designs that will allow for easy extraction and now they know it's possible.

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iuytrefdgh436yujhe2 t1_j1j40r6 wrote

Researchers also believe it is a significant breakthrough, though. Of course there's still a long way to go in development and viability overall. But this isn't a case of the news just saying some shit to get clicks. Experts are excited about this development, too.

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radicalceleryjuice t1_j1ix250 wrote

Agreed, the misinformation that is spreading about the fusion milestone is painful. (EDIT: “misinformation” may not be the right term. “Misleading sensationalism” is probably more accurate. Suggestions?

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NewDad907 t1_j1j8fx4 wrote

They pulled in better marketing and PR this time around.

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geek66 t1_j1jwl3m wrote

I would not call it misinformation as over-hype.

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radicalceleryjuice t1_j1jx48v wrote

Fair. Yeah, maybe misinformation is more intentional. But it’s not just over-hype either. It’s misleading sensationalism.

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lt_dan_zsu t1_j1ixenf wrote

Especially when you learn that all the news was talking about the energy output by the lasers, not the energy input. The lasers have an efficiency of 1%, which means the lasers used 200 megajoules of energy to generate 3 megajoules of fusion energy... which is significantly less impressive the 2 megajoules in for 3 megajoules out to say the least.

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