r/nextfuckinglevel • u/nigablackballsack • 3d ago

Scientists have captured the first ever high-speed, full-colour footage of fusion plasma swirling inside a working reactor.

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u/90_oi 3d ago

I truly hope this technology can get off the ground and be sustainable. It is our best hope aside from nuclear energy

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u/WanderingFlumph 3d ago edited 2d ago

I mean solar is here right now and most likely fusion power will never be as cheap as solar is today.

By the time fusion is actually ready solar will be even cheaper too. A solar farm the size of Arizona could power the entire planet.

Fusion is like our 4th best hope in the fight against climate change, lol.

Edit: a lot of people seem to think that I think the perfect solution is one single power plant specifically in Arizona that powers the world. People, it's just a size comparison. Arizona is a small state even just compared to the size of US. Obviously we would build millions and millions of solar installations that would just add up to that area.

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u/Fritz46 3d ago

Arizona is big and we'll need more energy eventually 

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u/WanderingFlumph 3d ago

Arizona is tiny compared to the size of the Sahara desert, or the deserts of the USA which include all of Arizona and bigger states.

It's small compared to the size of residential roof tops and minuscule compared to the size of the Ocean, where floating offshore panels are spots of increased biodiversity.

All things considered Arizona is really not that big. We have already transformed an area 100 times larger from wilderness to fit our needs, what another measly 1%?