Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

What ever happened to the polywell reactor design?


The University of Sydney have continued research of polywell reactors. I'm not terribly across their progress but I try to read papers whenever they're released though I haven't read any of their 2013 papers. It seems the last few years (2010-2012 at least) have focused around minimising point- and line-cusp losses.

More reading here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell#University_of_Sydney


It's all classified. It may be useful as an economical neutron source, or as a way to keep a contractor in business, but there's been nothing published about its efficacy as a reactor for sustained fusion power.

If there's one thing we've learned over the past few years, it's that "classified" knowledge, with no critical eyes to keep it honest, is often wrong. Science works, not because it's done in secret.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: