Reply To: Cost cutting debate

[Aeronaut]

zapkitty wrote:

Long before the project is half done, I think and hope FF generators will be spreading across the planet like wildfire. Even though ITER is not purpose-designed to generate power, the loss of relevance of that 50-yr pie-in-the-sky “promise” will undercut and then eliminate financial support for it. It will end up as an aborted white elephant like the Super-Conducting Super-Collider. Saving lotsa billions and leaving France with a very interesting cleanup problem.

How so? Just stock it with FFs, Polywells, etc etc and keep on building but with an emphasis on prototyping gear. France can become the premier alt fusion research capitol of the world with just a fraction of the ITER budget… and do all that while generating more jobs than the tok would.

The interesting cleanup problem assumes they get as far as experimenting with D-T fuel, thus creating a lot of radioactive parts to dispose of. I wonder if the people downwind know how hard it is to contain hydrogen isotopes 100%?