519
China’s ‘artificial sun’ breaks nuclear fusion limit thought to be impossible
(www.the-independent.com)
So I take it Doctor Octavos is a Red LoL
this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2026
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Practical power production through nuclear fusion still requires significant developments for it to be realised at scale, though several startups are already planning to deliver it within the next few years.
US-based Helion Energy secured the world’s first purchase agreement for nuclear fusion energy in 2023, promising to provide 50MW of fusion power to Microsoft by 2028.
I mean, time will tell. But that seems a bit sooner than 2100.
Is it only me that had the C&C Generals Nuke Cannon tagline going off in their heads saying BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN in a deliberate voice and a heavy Chinese accent?
"I am big!"
This day is to be remembered.
This diagram shows the LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) for various technologies - i.e. how much does one kWh of electricity cost if you divide the total number of generated kWh by the total cost of the power plant.
"utility-scale solar" means large-scale flat-area solar parks
But will Fusion ever be cheaper than solar?
I doubt it; It's not only about technology costs but also about advantages like decentralization. If you can generate your own electricity in your own back-yard, you're much more independent than if you're dependent on large-scale fusion power. Because that will necessarily be very large-scale and centralized because nobody can set up a fusion reactor in their own back yard.
but isnt it being centralized being the point? I have the (probably not so rare) tin foil theory that big energy spends a lot of money to dampen solar and other decentralized power generation. As a politician you have to ask yourself, do I get nice packages from big energy for not looking so closely when another forest is turned into a hole or do I hope that 20000 random people try to bribe me for something. In terms of money gain for a few big power plant is double plus good. Boring solar might be better for all of us, the rest, but not for the guys calling the shots. This all assumes of course that there is no empathy at all in the local legislation
Solar is technically fusion though
Technically, there's only two sources of energy in the universe: nuclear energy and the expansion of the cosmos.
Like, solar is fusion, ofc, the light coming from the sun. So is wind and water and bioenergy (indirectly). Geothermal is fission (heat comes from radioactive decay inside Earth).
But then there's another source of energy that nobody ever talks about: tidal power It works by converting the rise and fall of water with the tides into electrical energy. This energy ultimately comes from the moon orbiting around Earth, more precisely, its mechanical energy: The fact that the moon is distant from Earth is only because the universe expanded after the big bang. Had it not done this, the moon and earth would be located at the same location, and there would be no "orbiting" to extract energy out of :P
I just made a post about this here
Solar is Fusion as a Service or FaaS technology.
The sun is in the cloud(s)?
Solar power is not a feasible solution in all parts of the world, though, and large-scale storage is still very much an issue.
*Slaps on top of fusion reactor*
"You can boil so much water with this."
If China has managed to do something that scientists genuinely thought was impossible why are there several nuclear fusion research facilities all over the planet? If it's impossible that seems like a bad use of resources.
I think maybe that scientists thought it was entirely possible, and that's why they were trying to do it.
Scientist: "Scientific discoveries are meaningless when taken out of context."
Newspaper: "Scientist confirms that scientific discoveries are meaningless."
Journalist reads "limit" and clickbaits it, typical
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