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Peanut_The_Great t1_j04yubx wrote

Reply to comment by turtleface1337 in National Ignition Facility (NIF) announces net positive energy fusion experiment by Robo-Connery

The experiment used 400+MJ to make 3.15MJ and is insanely expensive, there's a long way to go.

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ofeam t1_j07q87q wrote

Yeah this seems like a giant oversell

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mcchanical t1_j0a1esb wrote

This machine isn't in any way designed to produce usable energy. It's a brute force way to push the boundaries of our understanding of how fusion works. They never factored efficiency into the design. Obviously a prototype plant would use more expensive, more efficient designs.

The whole design of NIF could never be a power plant. It's a very expensive, one shot experiment that explores principles that can help guide the development of more sensible designs like tokamaks.

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Peanut_The_Great t1_j0a35a1 wrote

Right, sooo would you say there's a long ways to go? I recognize this is a big step but it's not like viable fusion power is suddenly a lot closer. I want it as much as anyone I think cheap power is the solution to many of humanity's wide scale problems.

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[deleted] t1_j076vxf wrote

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Peanut_The_Great t1_j07uecz wrote

More energy was produced by the fuel pellet than what was provided by the laser which is what the experiment was about, that is a big deal but the laser uses way more energy than what actually gets to the fuel pellet. This is like a small proof of concept step in the right direction but not a sign that mass fusion power is a few years or even decades away.

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