[samatman]

Not really, unfortunately. The progress has been heartening, don't get me wrong, but it's more like $20B away from getting to the first steps of solving the next set of problems on the road to a fully functional fusion generator.

Those are fairly substantial. It's past time to stop being cynical about "ten more years every ten years", but it's also way too soon to declare victory.

[mjamesaustin]

And ultimately, fusion doesn't solve the hardest problem with energy today which is cost.

Solar already provides unlimited clean energy, and it took decades of development for the cost to drop to a competitive rate.

Even if we had a functioning fusion plant tomorrow, it will likely cost WAY more per kWh and require decades of iteration and improvement to become economically feasible.

[whamlastxmas]

I would wonder if solar plus the absolute massive battery reserves you’d need for a data center ten times bigger than the current worlds largest would still be cost effective versus a single fusion reactor

[jay_kyburz]

I wonder how that cost would compare to putting your solar and data center in space? (with non stop solar pointed at the sun)

I wonder if cooling is easier or harder in space?

[marcosdumay]

> I wonder if cooling is easier or harder in space?

It's harder. You can stop wondering.

It gets easier if you run things hotter, up to the point that there isn't much of a difference at a few hundred °C (and keeps making no difference when hotter).

[bostik]

Harder. Vacuum is an excellent thermal insulator.

[HDThoreaun]

Can’t dissipate heat effectively in space

[samatman]

The Thermos is properly known as a "vacuum flask" (or Dewar flask).