The question of sustainable fusion receives a lot of press regardless whether it is a Tokamak or laser-ignited fuel pellets. However, the question I'd always love to see get some attention is the engineering required to make it a successful power plant -- will it use heat transfer and neutron thermalization like traditional fission reactors to heat a coolant? How will that interface look, and what kind of maintenance issues are going to go along with that?<p>I'm waiting especially eagerly in the case of laser-ignited fuel pellets, as to me it's like harnessing the power of a multitude of miniature discrete hydrogen bombs.
Nothing to see here. The story is just a "where we are now" update with nothing new or significant to add for anyone casually following progress on controlled fusion.
Of all the various fusion approaches out there, I believe that dense plasma focus fusion (dubbed by one group pursuing it as 'focus fusion') is the most promising. Considering the ridiculously small budget they've had to work on it, the Lawrenceville Plasma Physics team has worked wonders. If I had the money I'd show no hesitation in investing. <a href="http://www.lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/</a>