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UK fusion reactor dream gets another £2.5 billion from gov't
(www.theregister.com)
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this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2025
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Cold fusion is a different and entirely mythical idea.
And step was the first successful positive output from a fusion (hot they run a 1pp to 150million c).
The money went on the design stage of a full size reactor. As expected and exactly as the original plan in 2022 indicated. And as the article admits. They just seem to think designing the first ever of a tech should be cheep. Rather then requiring loads of uniquely skilled and well paid researchers.
The register is missing important understanding. Early 1950 small scale fission reactors also had negative true input to output. They only produced a true positive result at full scale. But the maths proved that scale.
The maths of the NIF STEP reactore are the same.
There is a reason SMR fission reactors are only now starting to be built. Profitable ones were impossible until the 90.
Also, I think the Register’s point was not about feasibility or profitability even, but more that no one at STEP can explain where the money is going at all; it might be research and reactor, but just as well shiny new macbooks as a New Year’s present for everyone and ’is mum.
STEP is a fusion method not the organisation.
And the money was spent on designing a full scale reactor that uses that method. The register seems to think paying loads of researchers and professers to design the first ever of a new design is free. When in reality it takes huge amounts of computing power and in this case new AI systems to develop the algorithms to magnetically control.
A man made fucking star at 150million c.
Yes such design is expensive. Even when it has been done on a much much smaller scale. How much inflation adjusted do you think the first fission full scale power station cost to design.
The register is being dumb. Not to mention the 2.5b has been approved because the designers achieved exactly what the promised for 220m under budget.
And I agree, I meant that I’ve heard both hot and cold fusion predicted.
No you did not. Cold fusion has never been predicted by anyone sane. There was a hoax at a uni in Oxford in the early 90s. That was very quickly discovered to be a chilish student hoax. It was fun to them. Because all science theory says it's impossible.
Come on dude fusion is the very reason stars are hot.
Not to mention cold fusion would be fairly useless for power generation. As the heat is exactly how electricity is created. You need steem.
Hot fusion has been achieved. For the first time as self sustaining in 2022. But at a scale that is not profitable. IE takes huge energy to get the initial heat while only generating 1% of that energy after the heating is supported by the fusion itself. Due to the size of the resulting star(contained fusion result).
This project has designed a full scale plant to hold a much larger star using the same STEP design. This mathematically is predicted to be able to feed it's own growth after creation. Untill it is then contained( by complex magnetic fields),in a 100mw steem generating plant. Once it is created the huge lasers needed to initiate the heat are turned off. And the size of the plant allows the process to grow.
Will it work. Likely but it is also. Just like early fission power plants likely to take time to perfect.