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In Reply to: The end of the line in my mind is nuclear fusion... posted by Steve O on February 5, 2013 at 14:10:26:
which chronicles the history of attempts to use fusion energy for power. To briefly summarize, since fusion was successfully weaponized in the 1950s, various people have been very optimistic about its more controlled usage as a power source.
Unfortunately, it has never been anywhere as easy as people thought. Five years away was the projection in the 1950s, but many problems kept preventing even break-even operation. Magnetic fields and lasers were both used to confine atoms that repel. They need to be confined closely for enough time for fusion to occur. That has happened, but it has always taken much more energy for the confinement than was yielded by fusion.
There is still an effort being made, but the costs have become so high that multiple countries are trying to cooperate, as no single country is willing to foot the bill anymore.
Thus, fusion is still a long way away, if it ever happens. Not only that, but it is sold as clean power. It is not so clean. It produces many energetic neutrons, that turn metals dangerously radioactive, so there is plenty of radioactive waste. Not to the degree of fission, but it's still not so clean.
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