asymmetric_implosion wrote: Livermore tried to ride that pony back in the 70’s…

It seems that LLNL is still in training with the pony. Does the back of your envelope calculation look anything like what LLNL presented in 2009? It’s completely over my head, but it’s good to know calculations are being considered. They have access to advanced simulation and diagnostic capabilities, so maybe there’s something to be gained by their research?

The Charles Siefe article is destructive in any case because it adds fuel to the conversation about cutting funding for fusion. This affects people who are on appropriations committees as well as venture capital risk taking. The need for new energy sources is not diminishing however. Charles Siefe seems to opportunistically lump together the entire fusion community as failures with the easy tapping on his keyboard.

The lightbulb developed from a short lived dim glow to a useable source of illumination in around seventy five years. It then went on to vacuum tubes and cathode ray tubes. The electronics industry took off from there. People need dreams and inspiration to help pursue their goals, not just dwelling on difficulties and failures which are inevitable.