[4WIW]

I would think about more practical ways to reduce cost fuel consumption. We are still 10-15 years away from practical fusion. We have been, for the last 50 years.

As for Germany, maybe it would make more sense not to hastily shut down nuclear reactors, in favor of coal and gas, or at least until the equivalent capacity of renewable energy is online, if they really cared about the environment?

[d-gearloose]

The distance to energy production through fusion is better expressed in funding, less so in time.

https://m.slashdot.org/story/167399

[k0k0r0]

Thank you very much for this artikel. I found the explainations in that Q&A for most parts very understandable, and felt like they actually give direct answers to direct questions. Also I perceived the questions to be a very good composition.

Unfortunately, it's from 2012, if I understand correctly. Can anybody recommend a similarly braod discussion of the big questions for the 'simple (wo)man'?

[phreeza]

... says researcher trying to get their research funded.

[k0k0r0]

This seems to me like a comment driven by jealousy. Simply because it doesn't add any reason to it, like for example: a discussion or at least a comment about how the capital invested in fusion is needed somewhere else.

[phreeza]

Sorry if it sounded flippant. The point I wanted to make, and which was not clear from the comment above without opening the link, was that this statement comes from someone with a clear conflict of interest.

I think the burden of proof should be on the scientist, it just doesn't seem plausible to me that fusion progress is so fungible, especially not at timescales less than what it takes to train a fusion researcher.