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FarmhouseFan OP t1_j0cjpda wrote

Reply to comment by Thatingles in Nuclear fusion breakthrough: A physicist answers three vital questions by FarmhouseFan

I think that any opportunity we have to produce a sustained fusion reaction and rid ourselves of fossil fuels is worthwhile. Diversity in this field can only be a good thing. SPARC is a kind of tokamak correct? MIT usually has smart people working on things, im optimistic about fusion. Seems like the frequency of good news surrounding fusion tech has increased in the passed 10 years as well. Let's keep going. I'm a high school graduate so the highly technical discussions surrounding this is beyond me but articles like this one make it easier for me to understand where we're headed, and I love learning about this type of stuff.

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ItsAConspiracy t1_j0cp7tc wrote

Yep SPARC is a tokamak. It's about a tenth the size of ITER, but should get the same output because they have better superconductors. Tokamak output scales with the fourth power of magnetic field strength: double the field, 16X the output.

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Thatingles t1_j0dn4hc wrote

I think SPARC has a shot; they are designing for sustained fusion and with the work already done at JET and other tokamaks they will be starting with great data on how to manage plasma.

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