41–50 of 201 posts
Another big contender (IMHO) is Tri Alpha's aneutronic approach: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri_Alpha_Energy,_Inc.
Either way, cool stuff!
> Helion CEO David Kirtley says that his company can do it in three. Three... years? Decades? Days? Millennia?
We are hoping three years, three decades is just too late to matter. Part of what was not mentioned are the years that we have put into this already. Fusion is definitely a tough problem, but one that is worth it to solve.
> Helion Energy [...] says it has a plan to build a fusion reactor [..], a challenge whose solution has been considered decades away for, well, decades. Helion CEO David Kirtley says that his company can do it in three. Three decades? Either this is a very long-term investment, or a very confusingly written article.
In this article, he estimates commercial viability by 2019:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/07/helion-energy-plans-to-enab...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We are hoping three years, three decades is just too late to matter. Part of what was not mentioned are the years that we have put into this already. Fusion is definitely a tough problem, but one that is worth it to solve.
Forgive me if this is forward, but are you guys hiring? I'm in no way a physicist, but I do know a few with strong experimental backgrounds (mostly in nuclear), and I try to keep my ear to the ground for intriguing job opportunities for my friends.
edit: looks like it is - this is the group: https://www.aa.washington.edu/research/plasmaDynamics/phdx.h...
It's interesting that you can justify this investment in at least four separate ways, independently: 1) Even if there is a low chance of success, it would be wildly profitable if successful, and investing early gets you a good share if it's successful. 2) Fusion power would make the world a better place; investing in this way, when you already have huge returns and it's someone else's money, is actually rational even…
The risk of #3 is that they don't create fusion but they do develop a machine that can emit streams of hot plasma which is then turned into the Navy's weapon of choice for close weapons support on carrier battle groups. That said, I am looking forward to at least one of the fusion efforts bearing fruit. I'm something of an optimist here but I expect a durable solution to the 'energy problem' to emerge from our develo…
I think there are other paths to sustainable energy, but certainly viable fusion power is the holy grail.
They are all so apt -- A steampunk-sounding mechanism for combining things[1], a mythical element/alloy of magical powers, and a naked Helium nucleus. It just tickles something very artistic for me.
Edit: [1] ok fine it's actually a math function, but I like my perception of the name better.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Forgive me if this is forward, but are you guys hiring? I'm in no way a physicist, but I do know a few with strong experimental backgrounds (mostly in nuclear), and I try to keep my ear to the ground for intriguing job opportunities for my friends.
We are hiring for Redmond, WA, but only people that are excited and forward! Our Contact page http://www.helionenergy.com/ has the link.