What ever happened to nuclear fusion research?

Question

I know they ran into a lot of complications, but has any progress been made in last 20 years?

Answer 1

Whatever happened, indeed. Do you think maybe the 10 trillion we spent on defense has panned out? And maybe that could have gone a long way to developing controlled fusion reactions?
And eliminated our dependence on oil? And then what would all those poor oil companies do? What would all those poor oil stock holders do? And what would all those Texas oil men do?
The Russians were way ahead of us in fusion research until the Soviet Union collapsed. Then no one in this country cared anymore. We just didn't want them to be the only ones with nuclear fusion power.
Remember the partly built Super Collider in Texas that got ****-canned before it could be finished? Check the timing of that.
Guarantee we we will never see a working nuclear fusion plant.
It isn't even spoken of now when lists of alternate energy sources are mentioned.

Answer 2

Yes--most of the basic research goes under the guise of plasma physics. The nuclear physics part of the fusion energy production is well understood. Containing those hot plasmas is another story and still the focus of a lot of work. The plasma guys I talk to are convinced that they are currently capable of building a large fusion device that can make more energy than it takes to run it. This is, of course, a long long way from saying they can make a commercially viable fusion energy device. So anyway, work continues.

Answer 3

As a pragmatic familiar gas, it type of feels somewhat awesome. yet lower back then, so became an all-encompassing type of verbal change that permits a international adventure to be at ones fingertips interior seconds. The barrier posed is the risky nature of nuclear fusion. Even nuclear engines on submarines in basic terms position self belief in the harnessing of the warm temperature power by ability of steam power. It sounds painfully archaic, yet it truly is how that is. although, electronics are nonetheless somewhat magical as they position self belief in magnetism and ideas bypass. I nonetheless wonder at how we harnessed such an power. Teflon, the sweetness fabric of an era surpassed, became an coincidence. Donuts were a artwork round for raw cores of fried bread. the subsequent power revolution may be nuclear if we may be able to get entry to more effective than the warm temperature power as nuclear power spews forth an array of power.

Answer 4

There are plans to build a tokomak reactor in southern france. Most of the advances have been incrimental, but there have been enough of them that more energy has been released than what was put in. Some are saying that a commercial reactor is not that far off (of course, they've been saying that for three decades).

Answer 5

Yes, lots of progress has been made in the past few decades.

I can not give the progress justice here but if you are interested then I suggest you go to some of these sites:
http://www.pppl.gov/
http://www.iter.org
http://www.sc.doe.gov/Program_Offices/fes.htm

Answer 6

Excuse me, I can't help putting a lite spin on this. Have you seen the Fusion drinks in the supermarket? V8 has one. and there are others.

Answer 7

Yes. Government won't tell you about it.