Anyone heard about the new ITER fusion reactor they're building?

[TheWraith]

It's designed to produce 500 megawatts of power for up to 10 minutes--proof of concept for larger next generation fusion reactors, and to test the viability of their current techniques for creating and maintaining a self-sustaining plasma. It's going to be operational around 2016.

If ITER doesn't blow up or anything, the next reactor, DEMO, is planned to produce 5,000 megawatts, continuously, which is more than even most fission plants can produce.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. This is the one in France?

[TheWraith]

3. Yep. NT.

[The Deacon]

2. I Thought They Hadn't Reached Engineering Break-Even Yet

Did I miss a major break through?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. Nope.

Since it's only going to work for ten minutes.

[TheWraith]

7. Apparently the Japanese proved the concept with their JT-60 reactor.

They sustained a pure deuterium reaction that, if replaced with a more powerful deuterium/tritium reaction, would have yielded a Q value (ratio of power produced to power required) of 1.25, which is self-powering. The reason they didn't actually do it with tritium is that they don't have the proper facilities there. There's some speculation that they could succeed in such an experiment with the JET reactor in England if they started it up again, but that hasn't been done yet.

[The Deacon]

9. Damn

Two bad hurricane seasons & I'm terribly behind in technology. Can't even crack open my Discover to catch up (the magazine is unfortunately owned by Disney...though if my mother has already paid for it as a Christmas gift & its already being delivered...)

[Junkdrawer]

5. Links from a quick Google...

http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=26211

http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=26249

[Junkdrawer]

6. Here's the main site:

http://www.iter.org/

[Dudley_DUright]

8. One of my physics students did a paper on it last year

While I am hopeful that fusion research will lead to commercially viable reactors, the joke in physics circles is that "fusion is the energy source of the future, and always will be". It is a very tough thing to do since we don't have the luxury of doing it the way nature does (by assembling stars).

[Parche]

10. power

Where is 'Scotty' and his dilithium crystals when you need him!!!!