Every damn power plant is a glorified steam engine

One of the fusion startups says they can use the plasma B field directly. Basically making the plasma the rotor in an electric generator to induce current in a wire.

Why don't we just pipe our water all the way out to the sun and pipe the steam back to earth.

Reminds me of one of my favorite photos, a steam engine being delivered by steam engine!

I wonder if nuclear would get more traction If it was pitched as enhanced steam power instead

We live in a Steampunk world without Steampunk aesthetics. 😩

Low key this is a great way to convince people to switch away from fossil fuels.

Most people seemingly don't know that coal/gas stations work by essentially boiling water. Most are horrified at how trashy and underdeveloped the concept is compared to high tech alternatives like solar, wind, or hydro.

Just pipe the electroplasma directly into the workstations. Sure, sometimes this results in dangerous overloads during adverse conditions, but that's what the Cordry rocks are for.

Living somewhere that makes 90+% of its electricity from hydro, I am slightly confused.

use cherenkov radiation to power photovoltaic array.

Well, you can apparently also use supercritical carbon dioxide.

That might be fun.

But you're basically still boiling something to make it spin a magnet.

In Germany, funding for research is being cut alot. The solar cut happened a long time ago and fifty thousand jobs where lost at the time. Last year, they basically cancelled almost all battery research (needed for electric cars and stuff). Now, many more important stuff is being defunded. Except for fusion. Fusion is receiving a big boost in funding. Everyone and their dog are doing fusion research now

I think, that's not despite the famous "fusion constant" (fusion being always "only" thirty years away), but because of it. Unlike solar or batteries or anything else that actually works, fusion does not threaten to disrupt the oligopolies of the power companies, or the car companies or anyone else's. It enables a wealth transfer (accumulation through dispossession) to companies involved in the research, without contributing to the crisis of overaccumulation, because no use value exists, so no value ever needs to be realized. It's like building a pyramid in the desert.

Hey now, we could also use this technology breakthrough to move water from a low elevation to a higher one.