A New Way to Achieve Nuclear Fusion: Helion

Or the fact that Microsoft believes they have cracked *fusion* power. Sun in a bottle. Microsoft is breaking ground in WA state building a new fusion reactor. [link] EDIT: Adding description to video link Video from Real Engineering showing Helion's Pulsed Compression Fusion reactor prototype (2022). The same kind of reactor Helion is building in WA state for Microsoft. ▶ this video

in “EPA Moves to Cancel $7B in Grants for Solar Energy” · View on HN

The steam reactor I guess you might be describing is tokamak, which i agree will be a dead end technology. There are interesting small fusion reactors that skip the steam step. They compress plasma magnetically, and when the fusion happens, the expanding plasma in turn expands the magnetic field, and the energy is harvested directly from the field. No steam and turbines. Here is the video where I learned about it: ▶ this video Maybe any physicists in this thread could share insight on how feasible this is? Your main point stands of course: this is a moonshot project, and solar works TODAY!

in “University of Texas-led team solves a big problem for fusion energy” · View on HN

No, there are multiple projects and companies that are making good progress toward commercially practical fusion reactors. Helion Energy has a contract to deliver Microsoft a fusion reactor by 2028. It's only four years away so we don't need to speculate about it. Helion will either deliver or they won't: [link] ▶ this video [link] MIT's Commonwealth Fusion Systems has started construction of their small scale SPARC reactor. Once that has proven itself they will build a larger scale ARC reactor. They should get to first plasma in 2025: [link] [link] [link] [link]

in “Will we ever get fusion power?” · View on HN

I just realized it's THAT Helion. Their fusion experiments are not without controversy. Here's a video on explaining how it works: ▶ this video And here's a video explaining what's wrong with the scheme: [link] But the TLDW version is that environment required for fusing He3 with deuterium also leads to deuterium fusing with itself, a reaction that creates neutron radiation that irradiates its environment.

in “Greg (2017)” · View on HN

Helion Energy [link] : > They are developing a magneto-inertial fusion technology to produce helium-3 and fusion power via aneutronic fusion, [2][3] which could produce low-cost clean electric energy using a fuel that is derived exclusively from water. [4] Here's the part of the Real Engineering video where it is explained how 3He and 4He Helium isotopes are fusion byproducts and fuel used to generate electricity with nuclear fusion: ▶ this video (From "When Will Fusion Energy Light Our Homes?" (2023) [link] ) Doesn't this new nuclear fusion process also change the valuation of the Tritium in [Fukushima Daiichi,] heavy water? Why would you dump money into the ocean?

in “The Federal Helium reserve is for sale” · View on HN

We have that part covered; though unclear that we could get four systems into close enough proximity without negatively impacting each other. ▶ this video Still, if it allowed for more complete burning and/or less power input per axis…

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Yes they do exist, link elsewhere in this thread, Helion have a 7th generation nuclear fusion reactor fusing once every ten seconds or so. ▶ this video (It's not surplus of power, but it is repeatable fusion actually happening).

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Watched the Helion Learn Engineering video, too: ▶ this video Has that net-positive finding been reproduced yet in any other Tokamoks? How does this compare to Helion's (non-Tokamok, non-Stellerator fusion plasma confinement reactor) published stats for the Trenta and Polaris products? Could SYLOS or other CPA Chirped Pulse Amplification lasers be useful for this problem with or without the high heat of a preexisting plasma reaction to laser pulse next to? [link]

in “When Will Fusion Energy Light Our Homes?” · View on HN

Helion and similar methods side-step the issue by using (mostly) aneutronic fusion. ▶ this video [link] Also, discussing solar and wind without discussing the base load/storage problem skews the discussion towards solar/wind. Steam plants don’t face those challenges in the way those two do; storage is as much a challenge for solar as steam is for nuclear.

in “Why fusion will never happen” · View on HN

Too late to edit, but my source on the 2 months comment comes from an interview with Helion, who I think made the front page a couple of weeks ago, but in summary they are trying to smash two plasma balls together and then directly capture the magnetic flux created by the resulting fusion, rather than using a heat engine: ▶ this video They talk about why ITER has no viable fuel source, and about how they (Helion) are going to have to run two configurations of fusion plants in order to source their own fuel. One that produces a 10% power surplus, undesirable neutrons and the fuel for their power plants. They didn’t say anything but I suspect they’ll end up coming up with a use for the neutrons, perhaps making fuels for other processes. Someone will likely eyeball that waste heat as well.

in “Nuclear physicist explains why fusion ignition is hailed as a major breakthrough” · View on HN