This column is archived at: https://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2018/0914.shtml
Wow... is this a dejavu moment or what?
Could practical fusion generators be just a decade or so away?
Is the whole concept of magnetic containment simply "too hard" due to the fact that it is intrinisically negatively stable with a myriad of feedback paths that make it impossible to achieve?
Might we not be better modelling our fusion reactors on nature's own model (ie: a sphere with gravitational containment) which has shown itself to be incredibly stable over billions of years of operation?
Oh, hang on, why not just use the damned fusion reactor so conveniently provided for our use right there smack dab in the middle of the solar system?