fusion energy perspective

18jul23

Fusion energy perspectives

Let's put the question of fusion energy predictions into context. Currently, optimistic forecasts suggest 2040 for a solution that generates more energy than it consumes. 

But there have been a number of incremental breakthroughs over the past couple of years reported... There is a quiet confidence starting to seep through the industry, but nobody wants to stick their neck out yet. 

The consequences on every aspect of human existence for a proper fusion energy source are considerable. Just short of unimaginable. Careful what we wish for. 

All the current round of energy related problems - practical and political - disappear overnight - along with JSO and XR. All investments in solar and wind may become worthless. 

One quite solid investment is likely to remain copper for the power distribution grid. Fans of Nicholas Tesla may imagine it is possible to deliver energy by radio, but that is a whole extra level of complication that would have a diminishing return. Copper is likely to remain king for practical "end point" delivery until someone works out how to synthesize a new form of superconductor using the resource of fusion energy to power processes that we currently can't imagine.

The effort to reduce the size of generation plant to individual domestic installation (and mobile) will be worked on once the big stuff is sorted. Batteries will still be required to smooth out the local glitches, UPS style, but the amount of battery capacity required to have a significant impact in grid distribution will always be vast.

The whole topic lives on the margins of science fiction, and if there are such things as UFOs, then they can only be powered using a form of fusion energy.

The IT industry was famous for predicting that the next year was going to be "the year of Unix", starting sometime in the 70s. Compared to the awfulness of MSDOS, unix was the fusion energy of operating systems. After 30 years of this "next year" mantra, unix never really made the enormous splash headlines. However, guess what operating system (and derivatives) now runs something like 80% of all computing platforms.

And the unix that lives inside Android (or Macos) looks remarkably familiar to anybody who started work on unix in the 70s.