New record for fusion: Giant leap in pursuit of clean energy

This may be the most significant story of the decade!

For fusion to take place, there are two key factors that need to be kept at an optimum level — temperature and pressure. The plasma containing the nuclei, whose natural tendency is to repel each other, should be extremely hot — several times hotter than the sun’s core — and should be subjected to high pressures of more than 2 atmospheres.

http://www.ibtimes.com/nuclear-fusion-world-record-mits-alcator-c-mod-tokamak-breaks-its-own-plasma-pressure-2432110

...long period a flux of neutrons at 14.1 MeV.

In a conversation a few years back after a "Science on Saturday" lecture at PPPL during which I raised this point in the Q&A after one of their promotional lectures - they usually have one or two a year - one of their scientists came over to tell me that they believe they have a material irradiated at more than 200 dpa, but conceded that these values were obtained with lower energy neutrons.

They have not solved the problem at all, and haven't even been able to produce a sustained flux. This is one of the goals of the ITER, to produce that flux over a long term while investigating the materials issue.

The first wall, generally tungsten based in most incarnations I've seen, also must address the need for smooth uniform liquid lithium coatings in order to have any hope of breeding tritium, and additionally it's not clear what the long term solubility issues of lithium tungsten system will be.

Sorry, but fusion energy will not be a significant energy form in the lifetime of anyone now living, and it will certainly be far too late to address climate change, since, um, it's far too late right now. We're over 400 ppm, and no one now living will ever see a lower level.

Have a nice Sunday afternoon.

In our modern day consumer economy we humans would eat the entire earth.

I'm somewhat happy it doesn't seem to be possible in this universe, just as faster than light travel doesn't seem possible.

Otherwise we humans would soon be extinct.

If you think fission power is bad...

Rather than chose to ignore it.
Maybe it won't pan out, but along the way we will learn about the universe. Knowledge is worth the pursuit.

Lots of free neutrons so hardly any less messy...

Aneutronic fusion?

Not even close.