| Yes. The NIF is a weapons research lab, not a power research lab. The purpose of it is to show that the USA is still capable of producing advanced hydrogen bombs. More advanced then anybody else. The '2.05 megajoules' is only a estimation of the laser energy actually used to trigger the reaction. It ignores how much power it took to actually run the lasers or reactor. Even if they update the lasers with modern ones there is zero chance of it ever actually breaking even. It is a technological dead end as far as power generation goes. The point of the 'breakthrough' is really more about ensuring continued Congressional approval for funding then anything else. They are being paid to impress and certainly they succeeded in that. However I suspect this is true of almost all 'fusion breakthroughs'. They publish updates to ensure continued funding from their respective governments. People will argue that this is a good thing since it helps ensure that scientists continue to be employed and publishing research papers. That sentiment is likely true in that it does help keep people employed, but if your goal is to have a working and economically viable fusion power plant within your lifetime it isn't a good way to go about things. If the governments actually cared about CO2 and man-made global warming they would be investing in fusion technology and helping to develop ways to recycle nuclear waste usefully. Got to walk before you can run. |