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redlinezo6 t1_j04ljs2 wrote

So, dollarwise, how much would doubling or tripling the budget reduce the time until ITER can be completed and showing results?

We're still 5+ years until ITER even turns on right? Could you cut that to 2 years with enough money?

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Robo-Connery OP t1_j06n0e1 wrote

I asked the director of JET one time "if you had a blank cheque, similar circumstance to the manhattan project, when would a fusion power plant be ready".

His answer was that we could just build a massive machine. There are a lot of problems in MCF surrounding stability and confinement time that are so much easier in big machines but big machines are extremely costly. If you had unlimited money then you could build a stupidly expensive machine and eliminate some of the physics and engineering challenges (you do introduce some others, mostly in the diverter region).

As for ITER in particular, it is so close to being built that budget isn't really the issue. Sourcing components and waiting for them to be built is just time consuming, I suspect you could shave some time by expediting some things and increasing construction staff etc.. If you had triple the budget from day 1 then you would probably have a bigger and more complex and powerful machine, you would definitely be able to shove it through some of the commissioning and design and site location phases but I doubt construction is that much faster.

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redlinezo6 t1_j0972si wrote

That's pretty much what I thought. Kind of like the supercollider America started building then stopped.

If America commited a trillion$ over 10 years they could have a giant fusion machine. But it would be just an ungodly proof of concept. You'd still have to figure out all the details of getting it to usable size.

But hey... Better than spending it on killing people right?

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yellekc t1_j05v6p7 wrote

The supply chain on normal industrial products is nuts right now. I imagine bespoke equipment is the same or worse. I'd be surprised if it even opens in 5 years regardless of budget.

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