SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - New Tokamak reactor is projected to produce 500MW of fusion energy

I think this spells the future, not as soon as I would like, but is a serious way to explore future energy needs:http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/...s-feasibility/

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ST. PAUL-lez DURANCE, France—Rolling hills and oak woodlands dominate rural Southern France. However, about 35km north of Aix-en-Provence, nature has given way to a team of 1,000 construction workers who are laboring around the clock to build the largest physics experiment that’s never been discussed by Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard.
Known as ITER, this experimental Tokamak fusion reactor is intended to be the last necessary step to prove the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a commercial energy source. It is a collaborative effort of China, the European Union (through Euratom), India, Japan, Korea, Russia, Switzerland (also through Euratom), and the United States. In total, it will include 35 countries.

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Ultimately, the Tokamak reactor is projected to produce 500MW of fusion energy while consuming 50MW to heat the hydrogen. Because the primary purposes of the reactor are to learn more about the properties of plasma, the means of controlling plasma, and the production of tritium by lithium breeder blankets, the excess energy will not be harnessed to produce electricity.