France has upped the ante in the quest for fusion power by maintaining a plasma reaction for over 22 minutes – a new record. The milestone was reached on February 12 at the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) WEST Tokamak reactor.
  • Fizz@lemmy.nzEnglish
    0·
    12 hours ago

    This is so cool. I remember seeing that Europe is working on a massive mega project to build an even bigger reactor for more experiements. Its costing like 75 trillion

    • Zink@programming.devEnglish
      0·
      13 hours ago

      Well, if I lived in the world of American liberals and conservatives I was taught about growing up, the game would be over the moment fusion power became cheap, and everybody would be happy.

      In the real world though? We’ll wait way too long, then get excited when it finally starts to happen, and then right before The Big Day some smooth brained asshole will blow up part of the reactor or fly a plane into the facility or something.

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      17 hours ago

      Plastic Straws. Plastic cups. Wrapping indvidual food items in plastic and then putting them in a larger plastic bag which you carry home in an even larger plastic bag.

      • njordomir@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        13 hours ago

        The food has been impregnated with microplastics as well. This machine runs on sugar, but someone put oil in the tank. :-/

        • EndRedStateSubsidies@leminal.spaceEnglish
          0·
          13 hours ago

          The ironic thing is the human body runs on fat and a huge portion of our illness stems from the insane amount of sugar we consume.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cST99piL71E&list=PLE8LmUoWei5Qp5Nz7C4FMNs6hGNx7M3Jg&index=2

          Summary: In 1984 our group published the first modern study of the effects of adapting to a low carbohydrate high fat diets on athletic performance. I have spent the next 31 years expanding on this research. In my presentation I will present the results of that research program and conclude with our exciting new evidence for the role of low carbohydrate diets and ketosis in the prevention of whole body inflammation in athletes training daily at very high loads. I will also present evidence to show that elite ultra-endurance athletes have an unexpectedly high capacity to oxidize fat during exercise and so potentially to run at fast paces for prolonged periods without the need to ingest exogenous fuels.

          The 1928 Bellevue Stefansson Experiment McClellan W, et al. JBC 87:651,1930 http://www.jbc.org/content/87/3/651.f… Keto-adaptation Demonstrated Vermont Study Phinney et al JCI 66:1152, 1980

    • Baggie@lemmy.zipEnglish
      0·
      18 hours ago

      Idk dude, we already have the sun and wind but they hate that stuff too, despite it being very close to free. Hell they’ll probably bitch about fusion causing a surplus of power outside peak loads.

      If it doesn’t perpetuate the broken ways we currently do things it doesn’t give their buddies money, so it’s woke or something else bullshit.

  • meowmeowbeanz@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    0·
    1 day ago

    France’s 22-minute plasma reaction is a bold stride toward sustainable fusion energy but remains experimental.

    🐱🐱🐱🐱

  • CoffeeJunkie@lemmy.cafeEnglish
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    2 days ago

    Well, I’m still skeptical, but I have far more trust in France’s reporting than Chinese claims.

      • Zink@programming.devEnglish
        0·
        13 hours ago

        Yeah, just like all that anti-white sentiment towards the US because we elected a president who almost passes for off-white.

        Though I suppose there could be other reasons if we dig deep enough.

      • thebestaquaman@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        13 hours ago

        China: Spews blatant and obvious lies about everything that does or does not cast a shadow. Heavily censors any source.

        Some guy: I don’t trust information coming from China.

        China (and shills): That’s sinophobic!!

          • thebestaquaman@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            7 hours ago

            I never said “our” Government wouldn’t lie to us (unless you’re Chinese, in which case they definitely will). I just said that the Chinese government constantly lies, which is easily seen by anyone with eyes.

      • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        17 hours ago

        China had a long history of fraudulent science that they need to dig out of to gain a good reputation.

        • ubergeek@lemmy.todayEnglish
          0·
          13 hours ago

          Nothing like the very highly reliable pharmaceutical “science” done in the US, amirite?

          Its not like we ever had “science” come from the US that said an extremely powerful opioid wasn’t addictive, amirite?

        • cybersin@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          15 hours ago

          Because a shit ton of fraudulent science hasn’t come out of the US or Europe. Nope. No sir.

      • Pika@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
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        2 days ago

        huh, I learned a few new words today

        for others who want to know

        • Jingoism: noun

          1. Extreme Nationalism characterized by a belligerent foreign policy

          2. A bellicose patriotidm; aggressive chauvinism; belligerence in international relations

        • Bellicose: adjective

          1. warlike or hostile in manner or temperment

          2. inclined to war or contention

          3. warlike in nature/aggressive;hostile

        • Chauvinism: noun

          1. Militant devotion to and glorification of one’s country; fanatical patriotism.

          2. Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one’s own gender, group, or kind.

          3. Blind and absurd devotion to a fallen leader or an obsolete cause; hence, absurdly vainglorious or exaggerated patriotism.

            • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.socialEnglish
              0·
              2 days ago

              You don’t think uncritical and nationalistic dismissal of the “enemy’s” achievements as they must be both strong and weak has a place under “aggressive or exaggerated patriotism?”

              I guess that just makes them a racist then.

              • Tja@programming.devEnglish
                0·
                1 day ago

                As far as I can tell by their comment history they are American, so I don’t know how is trusting France to be “nationalistic”. Or “patriotic”. Or aggressive, for that matter. Not a hint of militarisitc feeling either.

                I might be racist too, because I don’t trust what comes out of China as much as what comes from France. Or Germany. Or Switzerland. Or Japan. Or south Korea. Or Australia. Or India. Or Kenya. Yes, it must be racism.

                • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.socialEnglish
                  0·
                  1 day ago

                  Yes.

                  It must.

                  O R

                  J I N G O I S M, you jackass, because it allows for the inclusion of allies within their nationalist tribalism.

                  Just an FYI, you racist lackwit speaking on topic they couldn’t be bothered to do a surface level reading on:

                  Both tests were done as a part of international collaboration project with the goal of progressing to DEMO:

                  https://www.iter.org/fusion-energy/after-iter

  • Match!!@pawb.socialEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    1,337 seconds? That… that number used to mean something, but now i can’t recall what…

  • DataDisrupter@feddit.nlEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    I didn’t see any mention of the output in the article. 22MW injected, but does anyone know if the reaction was actually generating a positive output?

    • Jesus@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      Sounds like the goal of the test wasn’t to vet ignition power in relation to output. These people are testing the durability of system designs that can maintain a reaction after ignition.

      If this was a car, they wouldn’t be testing the fuel efficiency, they’d be testing how long they could drive before the wheels fell off.

    • sushibowl@feddit.nlEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      No magnetic confinement fusion reactor in existence has ever generated a positive output. The current record belongs to JET, with a Q factor of 0.67. This record was set in 1997.

      The biggest reason we haven’t had a record break for a long time is money. The most favourable reaction for fusion is generally a D-T (Deuterium-Tritium) reaction. However, Tritium is incredibly expensive. So, most reactors run the much cheaper D-D reaction, which generates lower output. This is okay because current research reactors are mostly doing research on specific components of an eventual commercial reactor, and are not aiming for highest possible power output.

      The main purpose of WEST is to do research on diverter components for ITER. ITER itself is expected to reach Q ≥ 10, but won’t have any energy harvesting components. The goal is to add that to its successor, DEMO.

      Inertial confinement fusion (using lasers) has produced higher records, but they generally exclude the energy used to produce the laser from the calculation. NIF has generated 3.15MJ of fusion output by delivering 2.05MJ of energy to it with a laser, nominally a Q = 1.54. however, creating the laser that delivered the power took about 300MJ.

        • BalderSion@real.lemmy.fanEnglish
          0·
          2 days ago

          OK, so we should be clear there are broadly two approaches to fusion: magnetic confinement and inertial drive.

          In magnetic confinement a plasma is confined such that it can be driven to sufficient density, temperature and particle confinement time that the thermal collisions allow the fuel to fuse. This is what the OP article is talking about. This Tokamak is demonstrating technologies that if applied to a larger the experiment could probably reach a positive energy output magnetically confined plasma.

          The article you referenced discusses inertial drive experiments, where a driver is directly pushing the fuel together, like gravity in the sun, a fission bomb shockwave in a hydrogen bomb, or converging laser beams in Livermore’s case.

          Livermore’s result is exciting, but has no bearing on the various magnetic confinement approaches to fusion energy.

      • DataDisrupter@feddit.nlEnglish
        0·
        2 days ago

        I wasn’t aware of that distinction about the energy for the laser to generate the heat energy within the reaction not being factored into the Q value, very interesting, thank you! Would that energy for the laser still be required in a “stable reaction” continuously, or would it be something that would “trail off”?

        • BalderSion@real.lemmy.fanEnglish
          0·
          2 days ago

          In my experience the community will usually distinguished between “scientific Q” and “wall plug Q” when discussing fusion power gain. Scientific is simply the ratio of power in vs power out, whereas wall plug includes all the power required to support scientific Q. Obviously the difference isn’t always clearly delineated or reported when talking to journalists…

        • Womble@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          2 days ago

          Inertial confinement doesnt produce a “stable reaction” it is pulsed by it’s nature, think of it in the same way as a single cylinder internal combustion engine, periodic explosions which are harnessed to do useful work. So no the laser energy is required every single time to detonate the fuel pellet.

          NIF isnt really interested in fusion for power production, it’s a weapons research facility that occasionally puts out puff pieces to make it seem like it has civilian applications.

  • sit@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    Didn’t read the article.

    I have no clue wtf that technology is in detail but wouldn’t it be easy to have a longer reaction time by supplying enough energy? The news should not be how long the reaction lasted but how long it lasted selfreliant.

        • blind3rdeye@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          15 hours ago

          Seems like the person wants to learn something, but with zero effort. (i.e. won’t read the article; and certainly won’t look for additional context or information.) So maybe it would be better to post the question into an AI chatbot. You can just ask whatever question, and get some plausible but possibly-bullshit answer; then feel good for satisfying your curiosity.

        • brad_troika@lemmy.worldEnglish
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          2 days ago

          I haven’t read the original comment and don’t know anything about how conversations work but would it not be easier to Google chatgpt?

    • vithigar@lemmy.caEnglish
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      2 days ago

      I read thorough it for the details.

      It was net negative power, requiring 2MW of power to maintain fusion. The major achievement of this particular experiment was doing so without the fusion reaction damaging the containing assembly.

      It was purely a test/demonstration of the containment of fusion-like conditions.

        • Omega_Jimes@lemmy.caEnglish
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          2 days ago

          You need to be the right amount of high to properly understand fusion. Too far either way, and it doesn’t make sense.

          • Cocodapuf@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            2 days ago

            Eh, fusion isn’t that complicated. You push things together and heat them up until they get even hotter on their own. That’s all that’s happening.

  • Zink@programming.devEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    In the past few minutes on Lemmy I have seen a graphic that France is the largest weapons exporter behind the US, and now this. Thanks for being awesome y’all.