How This Fusion Reactor Will Make Electricity by 2024

[@Muonium1]

I've been an engineer on one of the biggest laser driven inertial confinement fusion reactors for a couple decades now and I'll be blunt, the vast majority of fusion hype videos on the internet, or anywhere really, are hot garbage not at all worth my time. This video really impressed me though, both in its accuracy and detail, and its relative thoroughness in examination of the RFC scheme for magnetically confined fusion. The sources and citations are quality 👌. Compliments do not come easily or frequently from me, but this video does deserve them. I will subscribe in hopes that the current rigorous heavy science focus isn't lost over time in favor more lazy clickbait trash as I've seen so many other channels unfortunately fall prey to.

[@thetruthserum2816]

Once humans master fusion, we can fire up the desalination and carbon sequestration factories and save our planet from the current 420ppm global CO2 in the atmosphere (2ppm annual increase), and then remove tons of Carbonic Acid that is being dissolved into the oceans... Geoengineering will have to be done to reverse the avalanche of ecosystem feedback loops that we are seeing amplify one another...

[@jeebusk]

You should maintain a list of what's worth watching...

[@oldmanspooky6641]

Thank you for comment.

[@brucestewart3170]

Yeah, looks good. They should have a useful fusion reactor in "20 years".

[@rexscipio3344]

Who do you think you are? Arrogant jack ass. Your approval is nothing.

[@cat22_a1]

It's 2024, I'm still waiting... Practical fusion and a commercial fusion electrical generation plant is always 30-50 years away.

[@WilliamLi-nd4lz]

Give me a decade

[@Shadows_101]

whats the point of comment? because its 2024 and they still not finish we have to abandon the whole thing and forget about it? with you attitude we would still live in stone caves... because why bother its 40 years or more away ? :)

[@cat22_a1]

@@Shadows_101 How about we stop throwing billions of $ at fusion trying to salve problems that are beyond us and let technology advance a century or so and then revist fusion

[@MAGH1O1]

We'll be lucky if Earth survives beyond 2030. Too many psychopaths in decision-making positions

[@MAGH1O1]

​@@Shadows_101 Censoring critical comments is a sign of deception

[@holz_name]

It's 2024. Where is my free electricity????

[@mizar_copernicus138]

its only april theyre building it not to your house but to research commercial use

[@nameredacted6221]

I’m so sorry that your only comments are people who don’t get the satire

[@jaye1967]

It depends on you playing the correct city builder video game.

[@robuu5890]

lol government is still gonna charge you for it

[@rschiwal]

I love how your replies don't get your point. I think they drank the Kool Aid.

[@JongJande]

This is very sound approach for various reasons. Small scale, pulsed heat generation and electricy generation via plasma and not via steam or hot gas, relatively simple to modify and optimise. Hats off !!!!

[@ThePaulv12]

I'm almost completely but not quite cynical when it comes to fusion that I invariably ban channels talking about fusion especially ones that invoke the words 'breakthrough' and 'milestone.' Those channels immediately get the 'Do not recommend' treatment. This channel was almost one of those but after fast forwarding through the first 3 or 4 mins I'm glad I watched. I was expecting sensational platitudes, lies, damn lies, outrageously ambitious timelines, clickbait etc; however none were forthcoming. How refreshing! My reward? Facts, a potential solution to the helium 3 problem and a plain admission that "turning fusion power into a cost effective real world technology is going to be a long road." Interesting. It was a good vid this one.

[@nolimitarcade2865]

For far more than a half of a century, the "Fusion Theory" has made it's proponents very wealthy, those proponents include the Oil Industry that want to extend the market life of THEIR product, dirty fossil fuels. See.THORIUM

[@JohnnyLarkin]

goofy goober

[@MrKgBizzle]

“The potential is enormous” Love the wordplay.

[@craigmuranaka8016]

Love that Helton plans to generate electricity without boiling water to make steam to turn turbines. I’m rooting for Helion. I even love how they’re solving the helium 3 issue.

[@danmiller2177]

Do you know how much helium 3 gas cost? This is pipe dream.... The materals would last very long in very high 🔥.....

[@OldManShoutsAtClouds]

​@@danmiller2177 they're literally bottling the power of a star and all you can offer is complaints about the fuel source 🤣

[@danmiller2177]

@@OldManShoutsAtClouds good luck with that dream.....

[@danmiller2177]

@@OldManShoutsAtClouds do u know how much helium3 cost?

[@alanmalcheski8882]

@@danmiller2177 one hundred... billion... dollars...?

[@aldrinspeck2724]

2024 has come. so?

[@SamStoddart-hy3xu]

Your 2 months late

[@Lucifurion]

YOU’RE

[@Nicholasbroughton0420]

"By" 2024 k so, where's it at?

[@deanle604]

Ooop 2042 mistyped

[@aldrinspeck2724]

always 20 years away.....

[@5133937]

Helion’s design is a first in more ways than one. Besides fusion itself, the most interesting aspect is that unlike all other fossil fuel and nuclear electricity-generating schemes, it doesn’t work by heating up water into steam which then turns a turbine to generate electricity. Instead electricity is created directly by manipulating the plasma’s magnetic field to drive a current through wires. That’s amazing. It’s way past time humanity moved beyond steam-powered turbines.

[@alansmithee419]

Well... It only really works with this type of fusion. There's nothing wrong with turbines, other than when they're applied to this type of fusion reactor (or solar, which wouldn't make any sense at all). Yes it's inefficient, but that almost always doesn't stop it from being the most efficient option available.

[@unadultratedtrini]

It could have been feasibly done with fision as well but no one put r&d or budget into figuring it out or we could have been much closer to fusion. The extraction, not generation is the true engineering marvel. Theoretically it's very much possible to take current from a magnetic field, this is done in transformers already, but to control a plasma such that we could extract energy from it is where we are missing out. Again if this is figured out then the rest of fusion is a cake walk because most of the tech required to extract the energy from magnetic fields could be reversed to stabilize the reaction in the first place. Then it's a matter of modulation until you are taking out more than you are putting in to keep the reaction stable.

[@alansmithee419]

@@unadultratedtrini This only works because this type of fusion is aneutronic, and because it's done by pulses, rather than being a stellerator/tokamak etc (where constant reactions are taking place). This cannot be used for most fusion methods or indeed fission reactors (which don't even have plasma). The reason this energy extraction method hadn't been invented before this type of fusion research is because it would have been completely useless.

[@MsDragonbal776]

I've said the same. I did a deep dive into these things once only to realize that they're nothing more than modern steam generators. Imagine my dissapointment

[@Nauda999]

I would love to see working fusion reactors in my lifetime, but in 2024 Helion will have goal of 2026, and so on, every 2 years adding another 2. For simple fact you can't sell half working fusion reactor like many other vaporwares sold, it would be instantly clear it is not working. There is no half working fusion reactor possible.

[@VarroTigurius-u1f]

Finally… a fusion video that actually explains how they intend to get power out of the fusion reaction. Thank you!

[@chuckholmes2075]

absolutely... ask yourself why are we going to the moon? Nasa and Gov are lying to you. it's been 50 years and all of a sudden... there's been a huge breakthrough and H3 is the key. however H3 is very rare on earth but very abundant on a planet/moon with no atmosphere. the Artermis project is about mining H3 from the moon. it's very HUSH HUSH

[@thierrymartin997]

This is good for teenagers willing to choose research in their future. Because I m afraid the fusion with Tokamak is only for studying the problems with this method to create fusions reactions. In fact this the bad method to create fusion because this is continuous process and not pulse mode process like Gaz engine. Tokamak is the steam engine to produce energy. So far JET needs 600MW to produce less than 60MW useful energy from fusion . The problem is the disruptions. Whatever we try to avoid them is the electronic cloud collected par of energy from DT reactions of nuclear fusion. With time the cloud is growing. Eventually it will touch the wall making short circuit of the huge courant coils. The B field is for positive changes. . The second solutions is to compress a ice pellet of two gases . The Idea in to reduce the size of the pellet by a factor 1000 time in a very short time of 100 nano seconds. The heat will have to reach 1 billions degrees in this short pulse. The result is eventually to make aneutronic fusion , no neutron emission. This is pure X ray generator easy to convert in electricity without turbine like in Nuclear power plant. So far it is say the top country are reaching 10 billions degrees Celsius. This is a technology is attractive because the electrons have no time to pump par of the fusion reaction. Directly photons emissions. Because aneutronic fusion creates no radiation but enormous energy which can be use to build either clean nuclear nukes o space reactor munch faster than chemical reactor .or electrical plants So far Bborum proton fusion reaction making 3 helium atoms and lot of X-ray is possible but not in continuity process like gas engine. The problem is to build the enormous heat done by lasers. But the lasers in lab can produce Gigawatts now. Of course still under military control. ITER the Tokamak for continuous fusion reactor is unfortunately a dead project with enormous challenges which will end this approach of making energy. . Of course the solutions to resolve ITER problems will help to improve other fields than fusion technology. this was a political project after the end of cold war. But the inertial method to produce controlled fusion reaction should become soon the best. Thanks to the Nobium lasers which are enabled to compress the matter to generate Fusion. In fact tokamak research was good to study the fusion reaction

[@stuckonaslide]

all the other fusion videos are "fusion is the solution to all of our problems. i will not explain anything but its magic or something i think"

[@johnhearn4622]

Amen!

[@michaeldavison9808]

@@thierrymartin997 Just because research fusion reactors will never achieve Q=1 doesn't mean that this bunch of people have a magic solution. This sounded to me like a glossy brochure trying to get venture capital for a small company with an unproven idea. Let's just say I'd like my research money to go towards improving the current generation of almost energy neutral experiments.

[@PolywellFan4512]

There are several innovations here. The reaction is unique for the fusion industry (but difficult to hit temperature); the conversion method is unique (though Lockheed explored this approach). The use of fused silica in a fusion reactor is innovative. We have only seen a few teams use glass inside their reactors; Sam Cohen's team at Princeton is one example. Glass is an electrical insulator; which reduces conduction losses out of the plasma. Almost all fusion reactor vacuum chambers have to be made using metal walls because of vacuum conditions; but the issue is that the metal conducts the plasma away; leading to large losses of energy.

[@alandinham7568]

Seems to me the hard part is done

[@alexzanderroberts995]

Isn't fused silica glass? I thought glass was made from silica

[@sicksock435446]

The reason most fusion projects discarded Deuterium-Helium3 and pursued Deuterium-Tritium fusion is due to the frankly insane energy disparity. For reference a D-H3 fusion reaction produces 50 times less power than a D-T fusion at 300 million C, the ideal temperature of most fusion test reactors. That gap closes slightly if you increase density and temperature beyond that point, but that only creates greater engineering problems, for marginal gains. Helions approach is much more disadvantaged compared to other fusion projects, not only due to their fuel, but their (relatively) extremely low target temperature. At only 100 million C their proposed fuel mix is 1000 times less reactive then a D-T mixture.

[@gregmarsters2434]

Fusion research has to sound like success is just around the corner. That is how they fund their toys and careers.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

They are fully funded actually and their investors have been on the board since the company got started. They also had their results peer reviewed by reviewers brought in from the big national labs. And they are aiming for net electricity some time around the end of 2024

[@Markty07]

Just like a lot of cutting edge tech

[@johanschoeman869]

I am so impressed with the concept Helion is exploiting. I am not a scientist but from what i as a novice could glean they seem to be a front runner in getting to the all important ignition and commercial viability. I wish them well in this quest and wish them great rewards both financially and spiritually for their industriousness and dedication.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

Helion actually does not have to achieve ignition (as in the fusion products keep the plasma hot without external heating) for their machine to work. This is because they can directly recover so much of the input energy (95%) that the fusion energy only has to make up for the remaining 5% for it to be self sustaining. For a power plant, you will want to have additional electricity to sell of course. So you need more fusion than just to make up the 5% loss. But the system should be efficient enough for ignition to not be needed.

[@supernoodles908]

​@@elmarmoelzer2229another issue is where the heck is the shielding for it....

[@jml4798]

I work for a company that builds the capacitors that help them achieve this! It's pretty cool

[@eholland77]

Have helion

[@jml4798]

@@eholland77 No

[@fufuandyam]

What company do you work for?

[@jns185]

"sell shovels when there's a gold rush" -- I'm also curious, what company is that? 😁

[@charlesnelson5187]

Achieve 'what' exactly?

[@lomgshorts3]

Solution: Thorium based low pressure molten salt reactor. Thorium is cheap, found everywhere, and can run on a low pressure modular constructed molten florium salt reactor producing gigawatts of power in our electricity starved Nation. Its modular construction is very affordable, can be trucked to its picked site, doesn't need a water source because it is cooled by thermal conduction under the surface of the surrounding Earth under the surface at about 50' the temperatures are ideally at 56-58°F. Actual fusion power is generations away, battery technology is still in its infancy, solar is inefficient due to its low conversion factor and really takes up too much landmass and is affected by weather. Wind is the same way, with the same problems as solar, and it kills rare bird species. So, we are left with Molten Salt Thorium based nuclear reactors which are at least 100 times safer than fast breeder reactors because if they lose power for cooling, a plug in the system melts and the radioactive solution falls into sub critical vats and cools itself. Also, cost and construction times are reduced to 18 months instead of 5+ years or more for the high pressure fast breeder plant that has shown to be so dangerous in the recent past. Need I mention Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the four Daichi plants in Japan? Our government built a molten salt thorium plant 50+ years ago and it operated without fault for five years, they shut it down because, while it produced lots of power for its size, it didn't produce bomb quality plutonium which we have far too much of that now and do not need it. Thorium reactors produce radioactive waste that only is dangerous for only 300 years instead of thousands of years for uranium 235 and plutonium. Thorium is a win-win technology for a power starved Nation.

[@mtp123fly]

Thorium has been on hold for about 20 years waiting for someone to donate $10B so they can build one and show that it really works. You are correct that the design of current reactors was driven by needing to make bombs.

[@joeblogs6598]

@bhakta_joe @longshorts3 The problem that nuclear power has is that it solves the energy crisis. Without the panic and fear that a crisis brings, those who want to control us will find it much harder to do so!

[@joeblogs6598]

just noticed there's 7 replies here but only 4 comments... youtube shadow-deleting again!

[@gianni_schicchi]

An online troll doing master in Pys. was calling me dumb for being skeptical about fusion and saying exactly this, ‘why aren’t we just building molten salt reactors anyway’. is it just me, or are a lot of issues glossed over here. The energy required to mine He3 from space, or fuse it on Earth, the energy to create the heat, thermodynamic losses in their heat recapture system (they didn’t even mention what that is exactly, a turbine?). I don’t get how you get around conservation of energy without gravity doing the “free work” of creating pressure/heat. I also find it funny that mining He3 from the Moon would just be solar energy with more steps.

[@jasonroberts2049]

We could just stop abusing energy all together.....

[@HamidRamadani-m6r]

Its 2024… is it doing the thing yet?

[@AndreasAM2882]

No, there still a long way to go lol

[@senselocke]

I have to give you props for your editing, effects, animations, and explanations. This could easily devolve into little more than a promotional video, but you framed it in a much more narratively interesting way, so instead of being "sold" on an idea, the viewer is learning new concepts and following along on a developing story and journey. And you're skilled enough to render complicated processes into simple, effective descriptions, and the animations are clear, simple, and coordinated with the descriptions in such a way that they add clarity and support. I was expecting to find out a neat thing or two; instead I now want to share this with a few friends because it's just bloody cool. Really, really well-made video! =)

[@ElectricFuture]

appreciated

[@michaelquisutdeus2970]

Agreed. This is an excellent appraisal of the video. Not only is this project fascinating in itself, but the way it's all presented makes it more than the sum of it's parts.

[@fathertoson8025]

Am impressed

[@railgap]

IT IS little more than a promotional video.

[@bartcop2742]

What a butt kisser

[@stephanygates6491]

I love that they named the “early fusion power pinch device” at Los Alamos the Perhapsatron. I’ve been waiting for fusion since the first nuclear reactors were built in my childhood. This was such a wonderfully informative presentation.

[@alanmalcheski8882]

what do you think of the LDX at MIT?

[@alanmalcheski8882]

... and LCF... lattice confinement.

[@jamesaapollock]

This… this is amazing. I didn’t think I’d see successful applications of fusion power in my lifetime. The idea that it could happen within the next 5-10 years is wildly cool

[@FWtravels]

It’s a pipe dream. Never gonna happen. Einstein said that man will never conquer the powers of the atom. It’s all a distraction wake up sheep

[@jacobprisner]

Where did you hear 5 years

[@poldetson6596]

It could happen in the next 5-10 years for the last 40 years. Do some research.

[@billbradleymusic]

Dreamers wanted apply below.

[@jamesaapollock]

@@jacobprisner in the video it’s mentioned that their reactors could be running by 2024 and generating more power than it takes to run them. Add time to build more reactors and scale manufacturing up and that’s how I guess 5-10 years

[@JordanBurrill-db2fx]

I've been wondering if a set of fusion reactors, operating in sequence, like a gasoline engine. This would solve the problem of recharging a single reaction environment.

[@doribellan]

I am a scientist in a program that uses 3He to date groundwater, along with Tritium. Deuterium is also used in our groundwater tracer studies. It’s exciting to see this technology for fusion electricity generation.

[@you_know_who_i_am2329]

Doctor Octopus would be proud

[@lockwoodthexton]

I actually feel smarter after watching this video, which is a rare and wonderful thing.

[@manuelmorales6084]

I agree that this new type of fusion reactor is much closer to viability that the previous methods. This magnetic vortex has a real chance at success. We may be looking at a long awaited upgrade to our energy needs. Unlimited energy is the dream, here we have a renewed hope. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[@alanmalcheski8882]

I have seen things like this in my mind for 30 years. Why would this take so long to make? And after finding these and thinking they're awesome I found out about LCF, using simple equipment like vacuum tubes, they can do better, more dense fusion than these ever could. And that was invented by mistake 70 years ago. And I was never too smart to begin with. So.... ..... ... wtf

[@alanmalcheski8882]

there's something like this at the lab... Fermi labs I think, or a college... It's a levitating dipole reactor that is 12-15ft across. That can do this, and it's old. They say it's a novel reactor. Not functional. It's functional. You don't keep a thing that big sitting in your lab as a curio.

[@alanmalcheski8882]

... LDX at MIT

[@Shepardofman]

Not sure if you've heard but greater than net fusion was achieved this week.

[@shanehays1076]

@@alanmalcheski8882 join

[@Zocht-Kocht]

Love the intro: "Hey, are you the guy building fusion reactors?"

[@ShneekeyTheLost]

So let me get this right... to create a fusion reactor, you basically created two coil gun plasma throwers and aimed them at each other? Awesome!

[@OffTheBeatenPath_]

I need a plasma rifle in a 60 watt range

[@manuell3505]

I don't think anything that can hold or transport plasma exists. It's hotter than all known solid materials.

[@ShneekeyTheLost]

@@manuell3505 Then you should probably educate yourself, because we do it all the time. Heck, the fluorescent tubes you find in all the office buildings is technically exciting molecules into a plasma state to give off light. You can make a form of plasma in your microwave with grape seeds, and contain it with a glass. Also, you don't seem to understand the concept of what a melting point is if you try to claim that Plasma is hotter than all known solid materials. If you are trying to say that the plasma state is hotter than the solid state of any given material, that's a given considering the very definition of the states of matter. If you're trying to say that there are no solid objects hotter than any form of plasma, you're simply incorrect in that. Some substances do have melting points higher than the temperature of some plasma. You're also grossly incorrect in our inability to contain plasma even if it is that hot, such as found in modern tokamak fusion reactors that have yet to reach power neutrality. You use electromagnetic fields to contain the plasma. This is something we've been doing for decades now.

[@afz902k]

Did you watch the video? They hold it with strong magnetic fields, because plasma particles are charged. The walls of the enclosure have to be pretty heat resistant though, despite being physically not in contact with the plasma.

[@frostriver4547]

@@afz902k what could go wrong? Totally safe and effective I’m sure

[@cmw3737]

I'd like more explanation of the diagram at 16:21 as to how they produce the He3. It has 2 deuterium atoms being combined to get either He3 + a neutron or Tritium + a proton but it seems like that's the big problem that other fusion projects are attempting, and they are mostly admitting that is too difficult and going for the easier combination of Deuterium and Tritium. If they can do it then great, we get a new supply of helium without needing to go to the moon but just saying they've patented something is skipping over a major part of the problem.

[@chacetgraham]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@13055]

Go ahead and add a collaboration with a company (relatively new also) that is trying to reduce the cost of jumping into space and coming back down. A bigger picture might start to unfold.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

It is very hard to achieve ignition with D-D fusion that is right. It is even harder with Tokamaks. This is why Helion is not doing ignition and their machine is not a Tokamak.

[@paulaxton72]

remember the end result is trying to get to He4 he's trying to see if there is a non space way to aquire He3 hence the fusion part of the equation .

[@davidkneil1045]

Lots of He3 on the moon. I think that's why everyone is suddenly interested in going back.

[@SA-ks9vz]

I've been studying fusion generation for most of my life and this is the most viable fusion generator to become reality. The only concern I would have is the stability of the magnetic field and any losses due to instability.

[@philliplapkovitch311]

I'm no physicist nor a scientist I am just a handyman that is always had an interest and I agree with your concern watching the whole video and how they're explaining that things happen in milliseconds at temperatures hotter than the sun and materials that can contain it even the capacitors that fire this off if something goes wrong do you have the time to fix it or shut it down or the ability for a safety switch to shut it down before you lose it how many times have you heard it's going so fast and oops I can't stop it oops is the worst word even in what I do

[@jingbot1071]

@@philliplapkovitch311 There is enough heat shielding that you would likely see glowing metal long before anything exploded, and your computer system is going to be able to predict something going wrong. Most likely, a failure just means you have dissipating plasma heat in a tube full of heat sinks.

[@mjinba07]

@@jingbot1071 I have very little confidence in computer systems, even those with multiple redundancies, to respond and contain such a disaster. There are just too many bugs, too much vulnerability to hacking, too much vulnerability to human error, extraterrestrial events like solar flares, and other interruptions, and the more complex the system the more chaotic the risk... Yes one can argue that safeguards can be implemented, but however smart and knowledgeable we are there will be risks we can't foresee, and the consequences of a single disaster, however unlikely, would be very dire indeed.

[@jingbot1071]

@@mjinba07 If the computer system shuts down completely, again, you have a bunch of hot gas contained by heat shielding. And the on/off switch is a valve, manual, not computerized.

[@bobespirit2112]

Isn’t worst case that the immediate container materials would melt and destroy the reactor but as the fusion reaction will cease and there is no adverse radiation created, there is no threat to the general public or even power plant staff? Maybe a reactor could “explode” to some degree but external shielding would be in place to contain any bits…?

[@jjeherrera]

The main contribution of these private startups is that instead of fusion being permanently 30 years away, now they are permanently 5 years away... 😂

[@prototype9nine613]

I was once optimistic on this project but now it seems too good to be possible, but if you are sure you can pull it out who am I to discourage you. Go for it ,we all want free abundant energy. I imagine what we can do with this energy, for instance space travel. This is a goal worth spending time on. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

[@shanearnold2854]

Boy we're u wrong

[@PETERJOHN101]

Free? No one said anything about free. You will always pay a premium for new (more efficient) technology. Take EVs for example. It's the Chieftains of Industry that cash in on such advances, not the consumer.

[@garywalker8493]

@@PETERJOHN101 People don't adopt a more expensive energy technology en masse unless it is actually cheaper unless there is a very compelling reason to do so. EV's are not ready for the masses (at least not yet) in terms of cost and other matter, but some early adopters like the technology (and the government subsidized cost) so they opt in. Not many consumers or electric producers will opt into to more expensive electricity just because its new. But make it 50% cheaper and adoption will be rapid.

[@Srindal4657]

I think technology is going to move even faster when the engineering challenges have been dealt with for fusion

[@Localtoast05]

Based on my knowledge, I don’t actually think we are gonna end up with fusion power on a huge scale any time soon, but there is still hope. Look at our progress with tech in the last 20 years, that’s a short time to go from such low tech to a future we couldn’t imagine long ago. I may not know much about technology and engineering, but I sure do love learning about it!

[@dinamiteurdinamiteur2324]

No they will end to sell fossil fuels before as mush as they can. Also in what stoxks should i invest to invest in nuclear fusion ? What are the best ones right now

[@RedrumKoa]

​@@dinamiteurdinamiteur2324 erm no.

[@iseverynametakenwtf1]

5:48 paused: what is up with the pipes? Was there some major blowout accident? It is a super cleanroom type facility (wear shoe covers) it would be clean and freshly painted

[@hardergamer]

This is a top video, thank you, I just hope this is shared well.

[@Hensiwbey_336]

This is the most exciting and concrete fusion reactor design I’ve ever seen. Specifically targeting at electricity generation, which different from so many different “breakeven” targeted design in the industry. I rarely comment on ur, but I truly hope they can achieve net goals in relatively short timeframe.

[@jonb5493]

Y the "charged particles out" is unique vs all the other "hot neutrons" which is less attractive. Fingers crossed!

[@thetalkinganvil8366]

Finally a great video on the subject. I really hope I'm alive to see Fusion becoming commercially viable.

[@ColonelStraker]

Seems like a lot of work just to make Fusion Energy Drinks..

[@darylfoster7944]

Every decade, it's just 20 years ago.

[@alanmalcheski8882]

You are

[@thetalkinganvil8366]

@@alanmalcheski8882 The way it's going I can't say I got lots of hope. I mean, I still got a long way, but people say "it's just around the corner" a lot more.

[@alanmalcheski8882]

@@thetalkinganvil8366 I mean it's already real, it exists, it could be commercially available. The problem is this...

[@barrycohen8254]

Moving away from a glorified steam generator to direct conversion to electricity will be a big jump to making it less costly.

[@oldionus]

Most of this was new to me, which is always a delight. Thanks for a very interesting and encouraging video.... even if they're not quite there yet, it's great to see this "new golden age of invention" unfolding!

[@lo1234-w9r]

Disclaimer.......for entertainment purposes only.

[@Mike-uo2gg]

We should be transferring from our current nuclear energy source to thorium. Except we can't use that to make nuclear weapons.

[@davesutherland1864]

I have never had much hope that I would see fusion in my lifetime. In the 50+ years I have followed the progress with varying degrees of interest, it always seemed like an expensive science project. However, Helion’s approach seems by far the most promising. I can’t say I know much about the principles behind the reaction they use, but they seem to be light years ahead of every other approach in that they don’t just talk about the fusion process, but also the real engineering aspects of making a commercial reactor. Also, while tokamak and inertial confinement experiments are of massive scale and cost, this is a much smaller scale implementation. Iterations can be done much faster and at lower cost. Even if it does not work, they will probably know in the next 10 to 15 years, which is half the time that the traditional projects take to make a incremental step forward. And if it does work, you have to wonder what will happen to all those multi-billion dollar science project.

[@Kalumbatsch]

LOL. “If our physics holds, we hope to reach that goal (net energy gain) in the next three years,” D. Kirtley, CEO of Helion, The Wall Street Journal, 2014.

[@ronjon7942]

@@Kalumbatsch oh don't be a debbie downer! 😊 2018, 2024, 2028...at least he didn't say the usual 10 years away.

[@LeMAD22]

Scientists don't expect fusion power plants in the next 100 years. We are REALLY far away from having a working prototype, with close to zero improvements in the last 50 years in the grand scheme of things.

[@liloheinrich8659]

Look up commonwealth! They have developed stronger magnets

[@aritano491]

Naw man it will not become commercial for at least another 30 years unless they is a massive breakthrough. Plus Helion does not produce NEARLY enough power to sustain fusion for ignition so this test will be useless without way more funding

[@Nturner822]

I’ve been following fusion for a decade and your video stands out as one of the most concise, informative and enjoyable ones out there. Great work

[@wildgrem]

@@alantasman8273 Ive been following fusion for half that time and feel the same haha. I will still click on these videos as fast as any enthusiast though.

[@youself20]

the background music used around 4:40/4:46 is "Cipher" by Lemmino for anyone searching for it

[@johncipolletti5611]

I have been hearing about those efficient Fusion reactors finally coming on line for 30 years now!

[@michaelclark4876]

Eh, I don't know about 30 years. I've followed fusion development pretty closely and the claims of just about ready to come on line have only been in the past 10 years or so. Still we should be very suspicious of such claims. Most tech startups that rely on technologies still in development exaggerate a great deal on their timelines, so that isn't much of a surprise. At one point Virgin Galactic was saying they would be running regular commercial flights by 2014 or so. Personally I tend to at least double the claims for time needed, assuming things work out at all.

[@johncipolletti5611]

@@michaelclark4876 I might have got the time wrong but.... You are right in exaggerating time lines in any technology. Just look at KZbin videos with all the problems we are having with EV vehicles. They even say that ICE vehicles will disappear by 2030. So much baloney!

[@michaelclark4876]

​@@johncipolletti5611 Exactly! There is no chance that in 8 years internal combustion engines will completely disappear from all new vehicles let alone all vehicles. The optimistic boosters of a technology always have it developing faster than it does. Everything takes longer than expected. I'm a huge booster for fusion energy research and have been my whole life. I'd love for some of these predictions to come true. But lets face it, what Helion says in 2022 that it can do by 2024 is exactly what it said in 2014 would be done by 2019. In reality, net electric production with a D-He3 fuel cycle by 2030 would be an amazing triumph of lightning fast development. Would love to see it, will be shocked if I do. That being said, the people who claim fusion power will forever be 30 years away are failing to note the quickening pace of discovery over multiple approaches. I wouldn't be surprised if theoretical break even is made by or before 2030, but its a long way from there to putting power into the grid And to be fair about the timeline, 33 years ago we did have Fleischmann and Pons, though that fell through quickly.

[@johncipolletti5611]

@@michaelclark4876 YES!

[@eMPee584]

@@michaelclark4876 „That being said, the people who claim fusion power will forever be 30 years away are failing to note the quickening pace of discovery over multiple approaches.“

[@wuodanstrasse5631]

I received my PhD in Plasma Physics in 1963. I have been hearing about this development since the late 1950's. It was 30 years away then. It always seems to be yet another 30 years away. Just like Zero Point Energy becoming a viable energy source. I have pursued ZPE personally since the 1970's but it still seems always out of reach. Damn and double damn. Incredibly frustrating.

[@miscbits6399]

The more we know about fusion and magnetic confinement the more we realise that we need to know.....

[@King-a-ling]

Get with me. I will show you where you are going wrong. The key thing is the transfer of energy. Think of it in terms of investing and compound interests. Yep.

[@jeep-australia]

Missing that key element, vibranium. 🤔

[@igory8698]

Just like with oil that is supposed to run out in the next 30 years. When you hear it, it is a fairy tail. This is one of the ways they control us.

[@LeeroyyyyyJenkinssssss]

It's only 30 years away though.

[@timfenton7469]

I’m nearly 70 years old and I’ve set the goal of living long enough to see people on Mars before I kick the proverbial bucket. But if I live long enough to see viable commercial fusion generation..... well that would suffice for me.

[@ElectricFuture]

I think you’ve got a damn good chance of seeing both

[@shawns0762]

I am 53 and have similar feelings, we will definitely see people on Mars thanks to Elon

[@peteallen4287]

same age, same goal, either would also suffice for me. Incredible changes in science & technology over my lifespan-BUT really wanted to see fusion power and humans on Mars before I check out.

[@alexanderpowell1528]

You have no chance of seeing either. *My income doesn't depend on people believing in hyperbole, unlike everyone else here* . Oh what's that- you study such and such and are really close to developing such and such as long as you get more funding. Ha ha, yeah, just like the environmentalists requiring further funding to save the planet.

[@Badkitty24]

With Musk being our salvation to leaving this war stricken planet, you may just see it.

[@jamesbond_007]

This video discusses what other Helion based videos do not: a) their process is aneutronic, and b) why being aneutronic is so important, not only for limiting the neutron-caused degradation of the container walls and making them radioactive, but that there is substantially more energy available with aneutronic fusion. Very exciting stuff!!!

[@JD-ul8qu]

I’ll agree with Muonium. Back in the 70s I worked on a version of the ‘Tokamak’. A Russian design for a fusion reactor. Back in the 80s I visited the laser fusion facility at Rochester. Fusion was always just a few years away...kind of like the check is in the mail and ‘I’ll still love you in the morning’. I admire their enthusiasm though .

[@Muonium1]

Which device were you working on? You may be interested to know, if you haven't heard already, that at long last and after over half a century we have got the laser ICF scheme to work. It's not pushing electrons around the grid anytime soon, but indeed NIF, has ignited its first cryo DT indirect-drive capsule about a year ago. They've had trouble recreating the magic 1.3MJ yield shot over the past year, but it's very clear to everyone now that the threshold of true thermonuclear ignition and burn in the laboratory has finally been crossed and that in not very much more time (months, not years) it will be repeatable.

[@JD-ul8qu]

@@Muonium1 we were developing a feed system for tritium in the tokamak. I left that project after awhile so I’m not sure of the denouement. I was just a visitor to the Rochester laser fusion. I will say it was amazingly impressive. I had more hopes for that than the tokamak, but it’s been nearly forty years since then.

[@Muonium1]

@@JD-ul8qu Interesting, I'm surprised that there were any systems at all attempting DT in the 70s on magnetic devices. I thought the first time it was actually used was on TFTR and JET in the 90s. I actually work with tritium decontamination of final optics on the laser. You must have visited LLE in the 80s when it was still the 24 beam 2Kj system, this was upgraded in the mid-90s to a 60 beam 35Kj system that still operates today. A decade later a new building would be added as big as the first to house a 20Kj 4 beam NIF style setup with two beams configured for chirped pulse amplification and petawatt (10^15 W) power levels on target. You can see a documentary on my channel if you like, showing the OMEGA 24 laser around about the time you saw it, featuring Neil Armstrong as presenter.

[@JD-ul8qu]

@@Muonium1 yes, it was in the 80s. And thanks, I will check out your channel!

[@adamross2256]

Some thoughts: Fantastic video. As others have mentioned, this is the first time I've heard of anyone coming up with a method to harness electricity directly from the fusion process. Most talk of fusion leaves that part out. The explanation and visuals are fantastic for detailing how the various fusion methods function. Its technical enough to be accurate, but is still accessible. And finally: If you turn their quartz injection chamber on its side, and sub out the pink light for blue.......... wouldn't we see that on the Enterprise-D? :O

[@tacobell2009]

This video brings me hope that we can actually achieve positive energy nuclear fusion in my lifetime. I have my doubts that it will happen by 2024, but I am rather excited to see what advancements are made in the coming years.

[@michaelclark4876]

2024 seems very optimistic especially since in 2014 they were saying they would do it by 2019. If it took 8 real years to make 3 years of startup-hype progress, then 2028 maybe? More seriously, one of the biggest things to look at for viability is their progress in making He3. The energy and cost needed to do it will need to be added to the cost of the fusion reaction, and deuterium-He3 fusion already has to reach a much higher temperature for peak efficiency than deuterium-tritium fusion. Although more efficient conversion to electricity lowers the fusion efficiency needed for it to be commercially viable. And deuterium-tritium fuel cycles also suffer from scarce fuel, tritium also needing to be made though there are several ways to do it, and so far there has not been adequate consideration of that fact. We are way behind on tritium manufacturing capacity even in regards to what we need for fusion research let alone commercial electricity production.

[@Kvothe_The_Bloodless]

Its the fact people don't know what its about and how amazing it could be. But people just hear nuclear and it turns them off to it without even trying to understand most of it and just assuming its something destructive.

[@chrisfallis5851]

I started college in 1977 at a school that had a lab working on laser fusion. I have been on the edge of my seat waiting for many, many years for a practical application of this technology.

[@simmerke1111]

In our lifetime might be optimistic, too. These dates are mostly used for fund runs. We'll see if they tackle the problems thousands have failed. They're going for harder methods that we've seen attempted before. Not putting any stock into any of these projects unless they prove they're at a positive Q value, not a positive Qp.

[@michaelclark4876]

@@Kvothe_The_Bloodless Unfortunately you're right about irrational fear of the word nuclear. How many people know the proper name for magnetic resonance imaging is nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. Because the technology underlying it is nuclear magnetic resonance. The nuclear was dropped because of the connotations.

[@bret9741]

I’ve been hearing the same “we’ll be producing cheap affordable fusion power plants within 5 years”. Or “amazing break through, a game changer”. So far we have spent hundreds of billions on this with absolutely ZERO affordable energy produced. I doubt we’ll see this energy viable or affordable in the next 50 years.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

Not even close to hundreds of billions have been spent on fusion. In fact, historically, the US budget for fusion research has been too small to make any meaningful progress.

[@bret9741]

@@elmarmoelzer2229 Since the 1950s, the U.S. has spent an estimated $20 billion on fusion research; today $700 million is included in the federal budget. Though progress in the last 70 years has been substantial, solutions to several key challenges remain stubbornly out of reach. From California Daily Globe Adjusted for inflation we’ve spent about $500 -$600billion dollars. If we ad in Europe spending it’s more than double that. Maybe you have some other numbers to specify total US spending. Regardless it’s been pretty much delivering -0- energy to date. Even with these “so called break through” it’s highly unlikely you or I will see a nation replacing power plants with Fusion plants in the next 25 years at best.

[@oculusangelicus8978]

I wonder if the U.S. military might be able to help Helion with the material to line the inside of the Fusion Chamber. Chobham is the hybrid Armor used to make the M1 Abrams and British Challenger Main Battle Tanks, this material is top secret as for how it is made and what makes up it's constituent materials. It is the most effective armor ever made, at least so far used as Armor on a MBT. I wonder how effective it would be as a liner for the Fusion Chamber itself? I know it combines both High density metal and the properties of Ceramics to achieve its strength, but there is more to it than that and it is extremely tough. Perhaps this material might be a key to achieving the durable chamber for fusion reactors?

[@ElectricFuture]

That’s an interesting insight, I’m not familiar with that armor but I would assume it was engineered to have more kinetically resistant properties to shaped charges and stuff rather than the sustained thermal and radiation durability required for first wall metamaterials.

[@acegamma3249]

@@ElectricFuture Couldn't you double layer the walls? The first layer being to protect from radiation and the metal described above to protect that wall? Just an idea. I am not a scientist, so I do not have a 100 percent amount of know how on how it works. But, I think you could double layer the one. First layer should be for what you need to protect from radiation and any waste produced by the reactor, then the second layer, the one that should go on top, should be the metal fore mentioned and that may provide some results. If anything, if it isn't a success, it is at least a starting point. Brainstorm, experiment, record the results. I hope that y'all succeed in this. This would change the world for the better. Y'all are doing great things.

[@capo_di_capi]

@@ElectricFuture Queue the world's top thinking minds to pivot their futures into Material sciences!, we crack THAT code? we are off to the races!

[@capo_di_capi]

@@acegamma3249 Seems the thicker the wall the more weight introduced, which could lead to problems?

[@acegamma3249]

@@capo_di_capi Fair enough. As stated. "I am not an expert." My suggestion is only a guess. I know that tone is difficult to read through text, but it wasn't meant to come off as stand offish, or dickish. Now, for my solution to weight. I am pretty sure the supports for such weight would be made first, before the wall itself is built. I am pretty sure that weight can be accounted for during construction. Now, the issues that could arise from this could be expensive, which may not make it cost effective, which would be a huge issue. But, I am pretty sure it is at least a starting point. A starting point isn't a final solution, but it could produce ideas towards a solution and encourage progress.

[@blairzettl3933]

Congrats for the well-produced video and this important technology. A few comments: renewables will never ever provide baseload power. Most important use case is off-grid, specifically where the cost of installing grid infrastructure exceeds the cost of renewables c/w storage. "Modern" nuclear plants are not LWRs, those are old plants designed to create bomb-making material. High efficiency plants such as molten salt reactors (MSRs) are truly modern. The reason for this is MSRs are 6 times more efficient that LWRs, are much safer, similar to Helion's design, require energy input in order to sustain reaction, and produce radio active waste with a half-life of 300 years, not 10s of thousands. They can also be manufactured and output modular units, then retrofitted into old coal-fire plants, leveraging all of the existing infrastructure. This tech came out of ORNL in the 60s lead by Alvin Weinberg, brought back to life by Sorensen of Flibe Energy. Terrestrial Energy is also utilizing this tech planning a full roll-out by 2030.

[@nolimitarcade2865]

For far more than a half of a century, the "Fusion Theory" has made it's proponents very wealthy, those proponents include the Oil Industry that want to extend the market life of THEIR product, dirty fossil fuels. See.THORIUM

[@bodypilot2006]

This for once has technical merit and practical application over tokamak and stellerator. You have to appreciate companies that actually think through the chain of obstacles.

[@erode.5101]

This is literally a thermonuclear device, what would happen if something went wrong?

[@MarkBarrack]

@@erode.5101 what could go wrong? Geez

[@MrBottlecapBill]

@@MarkBarrack Not much at this point since they can barely even get it going in the first place. 😆

[@abacusextreme1082]

@@erode.5101 if you aren't smart enough to know the diffrence between thermo nuclear and fusion, then just dont speak.

[@johnathanpratt944]

Gosh everyone is so negative and also didn't realize this is fusion, not fission!

[@itmaslanka]

Dr. Salvatore Pais USN has a small fusion reactor patented . All the naval ship have some type of special reactors for power .

[@RCAvhstape]

Several years ago, Lockheed Martin announced that they were on the verge of fusion powerplants that would fit on tractor trailer trucks, which sounded a lot like this. I wonder if they were going down a similar track. In any case, we haven't heard a peep out of that project in a while now.

[@OneofInfinity.]

Guessing it wasn't a profitable investment for the elites, nuclear reactors does not make them wealthier either, they pretend to want a cleaner planet, as long it is profitable to them, they'll fly in their private jets around the globe to tell others to watch their carbon emissions.

[@YouTubeCommunists]

@@Catinthehackmatrix ukraine,the start of Armageddon

[@NemoBlank]

Yes, I remember that. I invested in LM because of that, but they made all their money selling better rocks and sticks to the savages instead. Wouldn't surprise me if the moneymen shut it down.

[@drmachinewerke1]

@@KZbinCommunists no Russia is the start. You know the country is bad when the people leave by the 100s of thousands within days. This war could drive science to mayor breakthroughs. Same as it did in WW-2

[@martinsimeonov1563]

It would be classfied info as well strategic tech so ofc you didnt hear any of it anymore

[@patmitchell8690]

Good show about how to make fusion power with Helium 3. Very short description regarding how to produce Helium 3. I agree that Helium 3 is a better fuel than Tritium, but this is the first I've heard that you could actually manufacture the stuff from deuterium. Too good to be true?

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

It is established physics. You fuse two Deuterium atoms and you have a 50% chance of getting a Helion (He3). The other branch results in a Tritium atom that will eventually decay into more He3.

[@patmitchell8690]

@@elmarmoelzer2229 Thanks for the clarification. I meant to question the cost, not the actual possibility of the physics to make the conversion.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

@@patmitchell8690 Helion intends for their machines to produce He3 in D-D side reactions that happen when you fuse D + He3 in the same machine. So there is no extra cost. Though D-D fusion is less efficient. From my understanding they still get net electricity out of doing just D-D, but not the full 50 MWe their machines are intended to do. The D-He3 reactions add an extra boost to get to that.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

It is established physics (every fusion experiment that uses Deuterium as a fuel produces small amounts of He3): When you fuse two Deuterium atoms, you have a 50% chance of producing a Helium3 atom and a 50% of producing Tritium atom. The Tritium eventually (half-life 12.5 years) decays into He3 as well.

[@onestoptechnologies7305]

@@elmarmoelzer2229 Does that mean that Helion will still need an outside source for He3, albeit a 50% smaller source? Thanks

[@SirPigglezWorth]

Fusion is now permanently 12 years away. Now I'd say cutting down 18 years is tremendous progress.

[@ehombane]

Yep, but he made a mistake. He should have said that is 2 years away :)

[@b1r2y3n]

Update, 2034 is the new date. Thank you.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

Nope, still around the end of this year.

[@garywalker8493]

According to website, thet are claiming 2028, with the first customer being Microsoft. I bet they won't be cashing that check without a working reactor though.

[@pirojfmifhghek566]

Helion and SPARC are probably the only two reactors that seem to have a chance of doing something worthwhile with fusion. Personally I'm leaning towards SPARC, because it's based on very well-established tokamak science and it has a good chance of succeeding as long as their math checks out. Helion has a chance of competing, but it depends on how scalable it is compared to SPARC. I'm just happy to see this much competition. As long as y'all are breeding tritium and not running out of fuel, you're on the right track. I'm hopeful that ITER can perform as a true proof of concept to show the world that fusion can work and create surplus energy as electricity, but I also have zero faith that anyone would want to replicate ITER. It's just too damn big and expensive. Thankfully nobody will have to. ITER is built on ancient technology and there have been quite a few leaps forward since then, namely the strength of the magnets in use. I just wanna see all these projects finished and turned on. Damn I'm excited about where fusion is going.

[@Quickshot0]

Agreed with ITER, it probably long term has more of a future as a research facility in high temperature plasma's in very large volumes. Doubt we'll be seeing something quite that large again any time soon at least.

[@michaelclark4876]

Commonwealth fusion and Helion are probably the most promising, although the new stellerator designs represented by Wendelstein 7-X are promising too. I suspect Commonwealth's SPARC will be the first to breakeven. The only new technology they were counting to get them there, their 20T YBCO superconducting magnets, worked out and are likely to prove useful in other technologies reliant on high strength magnets like MRIs. Helion has not only the problems with making He3 but also that D-He3 requires much higher temperatures than D-T fusion. But I think people forget that ITER was intended to do more than just show breakeven. One of the intended functions of ITER is to act as a test bed for all the methods and technologies needed to make fusion a real energy source. Things like how to exhaust spent fuel without complete shut down, breeding enough tritium, managing neutron flux, extracting heat for turbines for neutronic fusion cycles. All the stuff needed to move from fusion as a physics experiment to fusion as power source. It's gigantic size was in part to ensure it would work well enough to do those things without relying on tech that did not exist yet. But I suspect those technologies are going to be applied to reactors that look more like SPARC than ITER.

[@Quickshot0]

@@michaelclark4876 Yeah, those are good points. And having 20T magnets will have a lot of uses in many places I imagine. Future particle accelerators, other fusion concepts are obvious ones. But really anywhere where you want a superconducting magnet, this material could become a consideration for what will probably be some rather good performance to weight and volume ratios.

[@pirojfmifhghek566]

@@michaelclark4876 The Stellerator designs are definitely interesting, but I worry that the design is simply too complicated and exact to be promising. The second hurdle beyond creating net gain fusion will be simplification, modularity and scalability. Of course I'm being overly nitpicky. I'll take anything as long as the world finally sees fusion as a viable, non sci-fi energy source. One headline of a successful fusion reactor would be enough for me to crack the champagne, but if I were an investor it would give me pause.

[@itsoktoberight4431]

The scientific community have put all their eggs in the one basket, dedicated all their funds and research into ITER when there are other promising methods that need funds and research such as the Polywell and IEC fusion

[@odonovan]

I am NOT a science geek, but I AM a science fiction geek. To see something we've seen and read about in fiction being this close to reality is sending chills up my spine. I wish Helion all the best. May every test be wildly successful beyond projections and may your power plants be on the market before the end of 2024! I want to see every city and town running them and generating virtually unlimited clean, safe energy for everyone. Then, when the size of the generators is reduced to where everyone can own them, I call "shotgun" on the DeLorean! 😉

[@ElectricFuture]

Love the enthusiasm! Just to clarify, 2024 is Helion’s target date for Polaris to demonstrate the production of net electricity, making just a little bit more electricity then they put in to do fusion. This has never been done before. Scaling the system up to a viable power plant is the next phase.

[@slomo4672]

Rewatch the end of video. It's not gonna happen in your life time.

[@goranjosic]

I think Helion is a lot further from commercial energy production than they care to admit. They themselves said in the video that they are currently returning only part of the invested electricity. Helion need investors, and because of that the story is a much more beautiful then reality

[@luislaplume8261]

@@mjolnirswrath23 You mean soundwaves, either sonic or ultra sonic. Check out Bob Lazar on his theory of using element 114 hit by neutrons to make element 115 that deteriorates into emitting anti gravity waves that can be amplified to travel thru outer space. He worked in Area 51.

[@jessicalandman8254]

Science fiction is often a prelude to science fact.

[@scottfineshriber5051]

I would love to see fusion energy production become viable. It’s really hard to imagine, but then so were things like modern smart phones at one time.

[@salarrue78]

it's not viable because the oil industry conglomerates don't want it and they will fight tooth and nail to control the energy sector at all costs

[@jbhk7977]

I think that free energy already exists, for all we know it was invented decades ago, just like there are diesel engines for cars that are way cleaner than electric cars yet these great developments are suppressed because they don't generate enough profit. Then there is that little thing called "being scared", the richest of this world want the people to be scared and worried all the time. They want us to think that WE are the reason why the earth is warming up, they want us to think that "we are the problem" because when you are scared and think you are the reason why the world is in this shitty situation, you are more prone to submission and control. There is no global warming caused by humans. Let this sink in for a while: When all the people in the world would stand shoulder to shoulder, WE WOULD ALL FIT IN New York and still have room for 500.000.000 more people. Knowing this, you still think our footprint is the reason why there is global warming? First we would die because of a new ice age, then we would all die because of acid rain, then we would all die because of the hole in the ozon layer. . . didn't you notice that every enemy humankind faces is "invisible for the naked eye"? The global warming rhetoric was debunked years ago just like the idea that we are slowly running out of crude oil. The creation of oil is a constant proces. Our earth makes more oil then we possibly can extract. So how do you raise fuel prices? By creating the narrative that oil is running out and we "the people" are polluting the earth. It's the elites that keep flying, driving V10 cars, eat meat . . . fish, go hunt. Do as we say, don't do as we do.

[@JohnDoe-bd5sz]

If this becomes viable, i can not see a great future for Russia and the middle east, whose economies are pretty much based on sale of oil.

[@antonnym214]

Okay. It's 2024, can we get an update?

[@nathanc6443]

Yes

[@jbreward4035]

By the way, we need fusion before we destroy this planet with fossil fuels it’s 2024 man let’s go

[@analog_guy]

Yes, on their web site, they are claiming they will produce electric power by 2028. What a remarkable achievement!

[@VOLightPortal]

I really hope one day something like this can be available to every single household in the planet. Essentially replacing gas boilers and is portable in a campervan/mobile home. $0.001 per kWh would be a dream come true and not having to freeze to death in winter time.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

The costs and maintenance of the inner shield walls alone is probably going to kill your dream sadly.

[@afonsomartins6311]

@@MrBottlecapBill only for the portable ones if one day they exist, but tbh at home it doesn’t matter

[@mscir]

Great video, thank you. Excellent presentation all the way around. Well done.

[@terencole1854]

Question… in a worst case scenario… what could possibly go catastrophically wrong with the experimental development of fusion base energy? Even though the overall goal is to produce safe and clean energy, are the risk of testing and perfecting this technology equal to are greater than the potential benefits? May be a silly question but I’m just curious..😊

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

Not much that can go wrong. These things are inherently safe because the fusion reaction is so hard to sustain and it WANTS to go out, if conditions are not 100% perfect. This is why fusion is so hard to do.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

@@user-bf3bj5no8j Helion's machines can be fully decommissioned less than two weeks after operation. The activated materials will be below background levels within less than a year. So, storage would be extremely short term, likely just on site for a year, then disposal. Low level waste makes the most by volume because even ridiculous things like the lab coats worn by radiologists, scrubs worn by patients during radiotherapy, or needles used to inject contrast fluid into patients (not even talking about the contrast fluid itself) are considered "low level nuclear waste" which has to be managed that way.

[@fjeinca]

I applaud the efforts to simplify this here, although I missed hearing the narration note that deuterium is actually an isotope (with doubled nuclei) aka “heavy hydrogen”. Many labels are flawed but at least that’s familiar to us in the last century.

[@CausticLemons7]

Really interesting and I think your video explains more than most fusion content.

[@rickpontificates3406]

Very professional video! If I saw this on the Discovery Channel, I would not think it was out of place.

[@ElectricFuture]

Isn’t that the channel that does like my 2,000 pound wife shows? I don’t know whether to take this as a compliment or insult 😁

[@davidlecottage]

Finally a well thought out and well presented description of a real fusion option.

[@cristinaximera9663]

2024 almost over. Where's the electricity?!

[@mactacky]

Clock is ticking

[@imperialinquisitor510]

Just came here for the comments :P

[@AppliedMathematician]

How, did they patent a fusion sequence that has probably been known for decades? What exactly did they patent? Interesting approach though, could work!

[@FerociousMoOoO]

The patent will be for the reactor design rather than the actual fusion process.

[@Tayfaan]

@@FerociousMoOoO In the video the dude said specifically that they patented 'a process to create He3 from D-D reactions for use in He3-D reactions'.

[@AppliedMathematician]

@@FerociousMoOoO : Yes, but it sounded way different!

[@alansmithee419]

@@Tayfaan Yes, they patented a process - a method for achieving the reactions. They did not patent the reactions themselves.

[@chucktowne]

Great explanation of how it works and what they are trying to do! I still wont believe it until I see it. This has been talked about for so many years and they always say "right around the corner". Well, where is this corner? It would be nice for this corner to hurry up an appear.

[@rogerrabbit80]

I've been hearing people talking about fusion being workable "real soon now" for at least 50 years. Somehow, it still hasn't happened. So, I always take stories like this with a very large grain of salt.

[@macbuff81]

The whole steam piece of energy generation always seemed a bit wasteful to me. Cutting out that process seems like a logical step

[@mnomadvfx]

It's not merely wasteful, it's insanely difficult to engineer steam energy transfer without putting the breaks on the fusion reaction in the process. Even small interactions of the plasma with the reactor wall can impact plasma stability so trying to transfer that power water would be extrememly difficult to do efficiently without all but putting the breaks on the fusion reaction and forcing a complete restart.

[@Digidoc316]

Couldn't you discharge the superheated exhaust through a titanium/ceramic heat exchanger to create steam to run turbines? Recapturing the exhaust energy to charge the supercaps more quickly so that the pulse frequency can be ramped up.

[@BRUXXUS]

Oh, wow! I've been sorta poking around into the progress of various fusion projects for 10 years or so, but this is the first time I've heard of this company/reactor. While ITER is going to be incredibly cool, it's absurd budget and delays have left me frustrated, especially since it's only a test article. On top of that, I always found it pretty hilarious (sad), that in the end, we'd still just be using fusion to boil water. This approach seems way more realistic and practical. If I had one critique of this video, is that there wasn't any real counterpoint to all the marketing and science being presented by Helion. I suppose the challenge of obtaining helium3 was one, but they claim to have an answer to that. Either way, you bet I'll be following their progress, because from everything I've seen, they're taking the most pragmatic and logical steps to achieve the goal of fusion power now. Not in 2038, or whenever ITER finally gets to turn on. :)

[@dbyrd7827]

agreed

[@Thefreakyfreek]

You speak my mind especially on the glorified water boiler part

[@MagnateXL]

although this explains very well the process of the reactor, is very vague in how they will make helium-3, since as it shows is still a fusion reaction and fusion releases a lot of energy, so tokamak reactors will still be required just to make helium-3 and we're back to where we are

[@dragoonpreston3]

@@MagnateXL No, running a fusion process to Make isotopes is something we've done for decades now. Fusion isn't the big new thing; Sustainable Fusion is the big new thing. The challenge they will have is making enough 3He Cheaply enough to make it worth doing.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

@@MagnateXL It is not that hard to make He3. Half of all D-D fusion- reactions result in a He3 (the other half in a Tritium atom, which eventually decays into more He3). They make their He3 in the very same fusion generators. So no extra hardware required. The biggest challenge is to make sure that the less energetic D-D reactions can be done efficiently enough for the machine to reach its 50 MWe target. I believe they can do it.

[@Lemurai]

It’s sad that as an engineer, I’d get paid more designing and manufacturing weapons than I ever would for R&D in the pursuit of real science and constructive goals. I just don’t understand humans. However, I am not confident in this working within the life times of the youngest born children currently on earth.

[@thoughtlesskills]

I want to believe that someday we will grow beyond 'me before we'. I am certainly not holding my breath.

[@hackman669]

Use free energy to make old ideas go extinct. Crowd funding and public access are key.

[@ryanlarson8096]

Seems clear to me that they'd employ a steam turbine sub-system to capture the heat as best they could, in addition to their more direct approach. I mean, this thing is going to need a serious cooling jacket, right? That can at least get their energy conversion percentages up. Even if they aren't talking about it for PR purposes, they'll do it.

[@Actaeon2nd]

Yeah it wasn't at all clear to me how they would deal with/extract all the heat generated. Color me skeptical.

[@darkhobo]

@@Actaeon2nd my friend. Steam generation is how we create electricity. Generating heat is not an issue for a power plant.

[@madcalm2024]

They will also get a lot of neutrons in process of producing H3 from D. It means a lot of heat & some radiation - a point to attach steam turbines as well.

[@kukulroukul4698]

@@madcalm2024 the gas giants have hellium3 for days ! Cosmologic days

[@possiblycurryddork]

I don't think there's a lot of waste heat. ITER only has a blanket because of the neutrons not because of waste heat. There are no neutrons in this reactor, which will slam into the walls to make heat.

[@takingbacktheplanet]

pretty cool. watched quite a few videos on the topic generally, but on this startup specifically and it explained what they're doing pretty well. :sip: thanks

[@derrillyager7946]

I am encouraged to see the expansion of human knowledge. And hope the future is bright...sorry to say that the more complex systems are the more likely things can go wrong, (my experience)..but still hoping for the best. Keep up the good work.

[@generalrendar7290]

I'm rooting hard for Helion! They are truly innovating in a way that can completely change the world!

[@primerevan8403]

Have they released any full proof plan? Anything to support their idea or any product yet in the market or anything in real ? Or is it just the idea?

[@generalrendar7290]

@@primerevan8403 well they have made several prototypes that have produced more power than the last. They are steadily progressing towards the size and specs necessary to to produce positive energy flow. I expect these to be used in desalination plants since that's where they can get more fuel and produce a vital resource for fresh water scarce coastlines.

[@primerevan8403]

@@generalrendar7290 Oh cool . That sounds good. Can I get the info on them? I want to read more about it :) . Where should I search for aforth mentioned information.

[@ChristianBlueChimp]

I've been following Fusion progress in the last 25 years of my 42 year old life and still hearing of new discoveries and progress, but still no break even point. I hope wee soon see a concept provide more energy than uses over a long time. It will happen, just a matter of time.

[@chuckholmes2075]

absolutely... ask yourself why are we going to the moon? Nasa and Gov are lying to you. it's been 50 years and all of a sudden... there's been a huge breakthrough and H3 is the key. however H3 is very rare on earth but very abundant on a planet/moon with no atmosphere. the Artermis project is about mining H3 from the moon. it's very HUSH HUSH

[@markkunes9711]

When I was at school, 60 years ago, I took a magazine called Understanding Science, in there was an article about ZETA - the UK zero energy thermonuclear apparatus en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZETA_(fusion_reactor) - I found it very interesting. Not much progress yet it seems.

[@RocRizzo]

And I have been following its “progress” for about 50 years. They have been telling us for those 50 years that fusion energy is 20 years away. They still can’t find a break even point. Why not just use the fusion reactor that has been there for us since humans crawled the surface of the earth? That would be the sun.

[@sjpbrooklyn7699]

As long as old-timers are chiming in I will, too. In 1973 (49 years ago) I was a biochemistry post-doc at Princeton working on mundane stuff like x-ray crystallography of pieces of DNA. A co-worker was married to a theoretical physicist who worked on fusion at the Forrestal campus across US-1. One Saturday morning he took me for a tour of the Tokamak model they were working on. It was not the real thing but a toroidal wooden framework big enough to walk inside. It was like stepping onto the set of a science-fiction movie. I was told we wouldn't have long to wait for the real thing to produce usable energy. I think we're still waiting.

[@eggman9271]

We probably have but oil and gas is much more profitable so they keep that instead and you might not believe it but they have proven they will take more money over advancements in technology its greedy as fuck I know

[@keldonator]

It's 2024, no fusion power

[@Lucifurion]

It’s not even halfway through 2024 yet Cletus. Show us all where they said “by January 1st”? By 2024 means on any one of the 366 days this year.

[@keldonator]

@@Lucifurion I'll check back in 2025

[@burnburn645]

@@keldonator hello i came back from 2026 and i have the privilege of informing you that finally we have come to the conclusion that @lucifurion is a dumbass. also no fusion plant cus duh.

[@analog_guy]

It is now December 2024 and they are now saying they will produce electric power by 2028. If they maintain this same rate of progress, by 2028 they will say they will produce electric power by 2036.

[@Tgspartnership]

those quartz pipes are beautifully made!

[@ElectricFuture]

You can see a diamond drill mounted to the right of the tube. During my visit there was a nervous technician painstakingly drilling each hole for the diagnostic lasers, trying not to crack the thing.

[@AdA-rl4eo]

The best science class I ever had. Great explainer! 👏

[@wkrp10splayer19]

i've been following fusion for 300 years, wow this is gonna be THE ONE

[@TwitchRadio]

Didn't we try this back in 1960 something... remember the project carrying on for sometime.. the project was abandoned due to the power not being as efficient as other types of reactors... plus the maintenance needed superseded the cost of running the damn thing... let me know when you can get that plasma generator over 300 M Calvin and sustain it with out generating more radiation than needed into the surrounding walls of the reactor..

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

It was not tried in the 60ies. They have a peer reviewed paper in the Technology section of their website (and a video where David Kirtley talks about the same). It might explain things better.

[@TwitchRadio]

@@elmarmoelzer2229 I'll check it out

[@ejgrant5191]

I wish we would prioritize research & technology like this rather than the "war machines" that seem to be the primary focus of our current society. This was a great video on a rather difficult subject. I worked @ LLNL in the 1980's and there were various Fusion projects being developed. I would be thrilled if the reality of the clean source of power became viable in my lifetime. GREAT VIDEO! 👍

[@bzbz7932]

Don't forget that the ability to generate power like this will also drive forward dangerous weapon technologies with it.

[@erikmckoul2478]

@@bzbz7932 We have to keep developing dangerous weapons because other countries will develop them, it's hard to just stop without everyone uniting under one government or something.

[@bzbz7932]

@@erikmckoul2478 Yep. Under totalitarian top-down control, we may never have freedom or apocalypse.

[@ahmedshinwari]

@@erikmckoul2478 Dear, it is this mentality that is the threat to humanity. So, you would wana press the red button for the fear that your opponent is gona press it first, rigth!

[@erikmckoul2478]

@@ahmedshinwari If everyone would agree to stop I wouldn't have a problem with stopping but that will never happen. I honestly wish everyone would stop. If you stop completely without everyone stopping you will be at the mercy of the ones that keep developing weapons and people have a bad habit of taking what they want when they gain power over others.

[@CreationTribe]

My first thought was: "Oh ya? Where are you going to find a sustainable source of He3?" ... Then he answered exactly that question. Brilliant!

[@empoweredchoice1893]

Thank you for this content. It is very well put together and entertaining for someone like me that knows nothing about the subject.

[@robertglover6538]

Same. Seem out of my league compared to all these other commentators

[@TheMightyKinkle]

At 3:08, it says the sun's density is only 160g/CM3. That can't be right 🤔

[@megamanrulesall]

Could fusion technology also allow the creation of new unseen materials/elements in the future?

[@thoughtlesskills]

Only problem with new elements is only super heavy unstable elements that tend to be very radioactive are 'undiscovered' in our current models.

[@LordSaliss]

Finally, a company doing something novel with energy production. I have wondered for over 10 years now why every powerplant is really just a steam power plant with a different heat source. Sure we have gotten really good as high-velocity steam to spin a turbine quick and make energy, but I have always thought that there has to be a better, more efficient way to use the energy directly rather than use the energy to spin a steam turbine. I am so glad to see Helion actually taking this approach and doing fusion research into directly harnessing the magnetic field of the fusion reaction for energy production.

[@daciefusjones8128]

and it saves a lot of water.

[@Stoney3K]

It's kind of ironic: Even with our advanced technologies, in terms of power generation we are currently still living in the steam age. It's just the fuel that's different. If something like direct conversion really does what it claims, it means that moving heat to spin a big wheel or flop a piston around has finally become a thing of the past.

[@place_desjardins]

Hydro-electric powerplants do not use steam-propelled turbines. Water pushes the turbines.

[@petergibson2318]

Electricity Basics: We already directly harness a magnetic field. Creating a rotating magnetic field by high speed steam is an excellent way of creating electricity. So is liquid water falling from a height.....as in a Hydro-Electric Power Station such as The Hoover Dam.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

@@petergibson2318 Exactly. The technology is so old and yet so abundant BECAUSE it's very efficient and most importantly cost effective. There's a million ways to make electricity.......most of them will also put you into poverty. CHEAP abundant energy is the key. Not abundant energy. Without the cheap part the process is irrelevant. I feel like the cost to produce the fuel and the reactors and the shield maintenance is going to be too high for this to really be a problem solver. I'd love to be proven wrong however.

[@john-doe]

Good material for First Wall would also be nano crystalline carbon steel - as additional perk it can withstand constant 250 siverts for up to 1000°C. As for technology itself , they seems to be trying something between tokamak and fusor. After all , old CRT monitors and TV's were in fact fusion reactors which were operating well below breaking even point. Edit: on humorous side, that gentleman who is explaining whole thing, looks a bit like Dr Octopus ( without artificial arms ofc ).

[@brookecoston3775]

😂 I do believe you Sir are the living Tony Stark..😂 Sarcasm noted ( ofc in a Funny HaHa way!)

[@Stoney3K]

CRT's weren't really fusion reactors because they were only firing electrons at the screen, not ions. Sure there was some ions being accelerated but they were deliberately deflected away from the screen because they would burn in the phosphor.

[@john-doe]

@@Stoney3K I was referring to method itself rather then anything else.

[@Stoney3K]

@@john-doe No, CRT's were not 'in fact' fusion reactors of any kind. They didn't produce any fusion because there were no ions that moved anywhere near fast enough for that to happen. CRT's *are* particle accelerators and the Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor used a design similar to the modern CRT electron gun as its accelerator, but that doesn't make a CRT a fusion reactor.

[@Eyembooks]

Any update on this reactor?

[@kallyfox1653]

I had to re-watch this vid three times to understand it but it blew me away!!! It is a truly awesome project!!!

[@jonahansen]

The neat thing about fusion power is that it has a defined date for its achievement: it's always 50 years in the future.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

Not in this case.

[@MrChiangching]

Such an original thought 😂

[@jonahansen]

@@elmarmoelzer2229 Time will tell.

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

@@jonahansen 2024...

[@stadtrade102]

Tritium 😚

[@side_of_beef]

I have no doubt that Fusion will solve a lot of problems. But, the powers that be are going to control and monetize it to hell.

[@sonofamortician]

maybe I missed something, about the fuel, the discussion seems to be between deuterium and helium 4, and yet no one ever talks about the tritium supply problem, other fusion reactors have a plan for making tritium inside the reactor, but does this one have any plans for it?

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

They do not burn Tritium. They are fusing Deuterium and He3. They make He3 and Tritium by fusing Deuterium in the same machine (or optionally in the future in dedicated separate machines). D-D reactions either produce a He3 or a Tritium atom (both with equal chance) and the Tritium will eventually decay into more He3 for fuel.

[@ПавелВиноградов-й5ю]

doctor octopus looks fresh. hope he not destroy the world second time =))

[@raynebarber6415]

Lolz! 😂

[@Focus_20SF]

I’m gonna blow the city

[@eyesuckle]

@@gymforexstocks5834 It's a reference to the villain in the second movie of the original Spiderman trilogy.

[@trikael]

"Your home could be powered by fusion much sooner than anyone expected" I recall that fusion power was fifteen years away in 1970.

[@user-lj6gk4lv9s]

It's a lot closer now, maybe next 100 years or so.

[@onestoptechnologies7305]

Ditto... How do you predict innovations based upon spontaneous, paradigm shifting ideas?

[@Shut-Up-And-Read]

Imagine if we dedicated more resources and brain power to figuring stuff like this out, Instead of the absolute crap we as a society worry about and consume in our daily lives. I truly believe more futuristic technologies would be a lot easier to obtain, if we could get people to concentrate on what needs to be done, rather than what TV show they're going to watch next.

[@illreel5169]

Extremely innovative approach, The Protium displacement worries me though... I hope they are looking at the reactors in different light spectrums... 👑✨👑

[@unmaskedandanonymous3660]

elaborate

[@darrenhenderson6921]

How is this any different other than shape from conventional nuclear power? We can make it much cleaner too but we need to use the byproduct to weaponise.