[Kitdy]

Originally Posted by NSXType-R

I thought fusion wasn't possible yet. What's missing from the "equation" that hasn't made fusion possible yet? Control of the reaction?

The problem as I understand is is that the reaction is not yet sustainable for long periods of time, what's called the Q value, which is the index of sustainability... screw it I'm opening wikipedia, I can't remember all this information.

Ok, Q is the fusion energy gain factor, a value of 1 indicates breakeven - the energy of the reactor is such that the reaction will continue on it's own energy. However, this does not include the energy used to confine the reaction - something that involves massive amounts of energy, so to actually provide useful energy, one needs a Q value of much greater than 1. In a theoretically efficient, self-sustaining, high power developing reactor, a Q value of about 22 is required.

ITER, the newest magnetic confinement nuclear fusion reactor will be able to produce a 500MW sustainable reaction for up to 400 seconds at a time, compared to the previous generation JET's 16 MW for less than a second - a dramatic increase to say the least. Goals are for a Q value will be about 5 for a long period of time and up to 10 for short periods of time.

ITER formerly stood for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, but now holds no acronym at all as thermonuclear was viewed by the public as having a negative connotation.