> > It would be nice to see them all funded to the > $50-100 million level for a few years to see if one or more of them > looks promising enough to carry on with > 1/ Field Reversed Configuration - eg Helion Energy, Tri Alpha > 2/ Electrostatic Confinement - eg Polywell/EMC2 > 3/ Magnetised Target Fusion - eg General Fusion > 4/ Levitated Dipole - eg MIT LDX > 5/ Focus fusion - LPPX >
I won't argue that large investments in research aren't needed in order to improve the world's energy security over the long run. But I'm beginning to think the large numbers you see in connection with some projects are evidence of something in the system that's failing. Does it make sense to invest 3.4 billion dollars to create the National Ignition Facility in order to carry out basic fusion research? Maybe. Maybe, though, restrictions on funding are actually a blessing. Assuming LENR will be recognized and commercialized at some point in the medium term, I think the relative cost of the two research programs will present an object lesson in what can be done on a tight budget. It doesn't seem like starving projects of funding is a good way to go; it just seems like the grand-project approach may not be all that efficient a way to advance science, either. Eric
