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#Fusion

Listen up folks, very soon there is going to be a big announcement about Fusion, from the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore. I have NO details. But the hype has already started. If they say "Net Gain" in energy output, or "More energy out than put in" or some such... it ain't true. Yes they made some terrific gains in sustainability. But the way they measure this is very funky.

See

http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-close-is-nuclear-fusion-power.html

@corlin I also can already see the misconceptions. From what I can tell (as someone who works in the energy sector and is _not_ an engineer or scientist), they gain more energy than they put into the system, but that is because they are releasing energy already in the system. Just like how you can start a small fire and release all of the chemical energy stored in the trees. No one is producing infinite energy, but using very intense processes for getting out more than they put in.

@koavf

Yes...
It is simple accounting error.
"when we say energy in, just ignore all this over here, we don't count that."

@corlin @koavf If they can successfully create a fusion reaction and convert a significant fraction of the energy for any real timeframe, that might set a new benchmark for clean energy.

Hard to beat hydroelectric or geothermal.

@Curiousfoolish @corlin It would be mammoth. Hydroelectric has some issues with its environmental impact and non-enhanced geothermal is very site-dependent. There is no single silver bullet for all our energy needs and having diverse sources and technologies is actually an asset, not a liability.