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Originally Posted by moz
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Fusion research is IMO a bit of a joke right now - we know what's required to make hot fusion go and we know that we can't provide those conditions. So the useful research is really indirect, stuff like better magnets and fundamental physics that might lead to sidestepping many of the current problems altogether. Which is why it's important to fund weird stuff as well as the current fixation with "a theory of everything" and straight commercial science.
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The late Dr. Bussard had an approach that may work (or may not). The theory appears good (according to a couple of physicists of my acquaintance) but the engineering has not been demonstrated. The talk I've seen on the subject gave an estimate of $20Million to build a test article that would either prove or disprove the theory while also giving enough data to design full-scale plants. One would only bother with designing larger devices if the test article is successful, of course.
But although his approach is solidly main-stream in terms of physics and theory, it's out of step from the main-stream of fusion research. And for some reason, no one has seen fit to fund that $20M.
I've been poking some of the local Green organizations, and suggesting that they collaborate with, say, the Edison Institute or the Electric Power Research Institute to fund it and find out. There's no knowing what the odds are without giving it a try, but the potential pay-off is so large it seems like a good idea to me.
My thinking is that the green folks have the enviro credentials and the electric power folks have the money and the business interest. They should be natural partners on something like this. Right?
Xenophon
P.S. Due to Cheop's Law*, I've been noting that a budget on the order of $40M or even $50M would be a more appropriate estimate. *Cheop's Law: Everything always takes longer and costs more.