This is encouraging
The Department of Energy plans to announce Tuesday that scientists have been able for the first time to produce a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain — a major milestone in the decades-long, multibillion-dollar quest to develop a technology that provides unlimited, cheap, clean power.
Fusion energy, the 'holy grail' of clean power, a step closer to reality - The Washington Post
But there are major caveats
Creating the net energy gain required engagement of one of the largest lasers in the world, and the resources needed to recreate the reaction on the scale required to make fusion practical for energy production are immense. More importantly, engineers have yet to develop machinery capable of affordably turning that reaction into electricity that can be practically deployed to the power grid.
Building devices that are large enough to create fusion power at scale, scientists say, would require materials that are extraordinarily difficult to produce. At the same time, the reaction creates neutrons that put a tremendous amount of stress on the equipment creating it, such that it can get destroyed in the process.
And then there is the question of whether the technology could be perfected in time to make a dent in climate change.
Bluntly, the engineering of these breakthrough is often more important than the science of them. Turning the gee whiz into a practical, repeatable, economical process or device is where the benefit to society comes. Right now, the science may have only proven that it can be done. And that is important, no doubt. But util it can be done in a manner that allows us to reap the benefits, until it can be engineered, it has little value.
The real work is in taking this from the lab to society and based on this reporting, that work has barely begun. And there is danger in that gap. There will be people who will use these advances to lean out of needed steps to combat climate change, who will argue that science and technology can solve all of our climate related challenges. Those people either do not understand the truth or are liars. Fusion may one day be the end game for climate change, but this announcement does not take us meaningfully closer to that day.
Science is not a replacement for engineering -- it is a starting point, at best. So be excited for the potential and applaud the hard work. But do not forget that we likely have miles to go yet before we see commercial fusion reactors, and we need to do a lot to preserve our planet in order to make that journey possible.
