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JET tokamak fusion machine in UK passes next test

Danya Gainor - Angela Dewan
USA UK
2022
Fusion is the energy in the stars. As far as we know there is no fusion energy happening on a continuous, large scale bases on any planets, moons, or asteroids. It doesn't seem that fusion will replace all the energy applications of fossil fuels and fission nuclear power any time soon. Climate change is only modestly influenced by the whole carbon dioxide cycle. CO2 from fossil fuels is only a part of the carbon dioxide cycle. Fusion energy will have almost zero influence on controlling climate change ever! The claims to the contrary are pure journalistic hype!

There's no silver bullet to the climate crisis, but nuclear fusion may be the closest thing to it. In the quest for a near-limitless, zero-carbon source of reliable power, scientists have generated fusion energy before, but they have struggled for decades to sustain it for very long.

Scientists working in the United Kingdom announced that they more than doubled the previous record for generating and sustaining nuclear fusion, which is the same process that allows the sun and stars to shine so brightly.

While JET's goal was to prove that nuclear fusion could be generated and sustained, ITER's aim is to produce a tenfold return on energy, or 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of fuel put in.