What is the present status of “hot” fusion?
Scientists the world over have spent more than four decades and billions of dollars (an estimated $15 billion in the U.S. alone) to investigate the possibility of mimicking with devices here on Earth the fusion reactions of the stars. These are complex and large machines that rely on high magnetic fields or powerful lasers to compress and heat fusion fuel, typically the isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. The controlled hot fusion program has made enormous strides, but all agree that the earliest possible time when practical hot fusion devices might be available is about three decades away. Hot fusion is a very tough engineering problem. Many engineers – even those favorable to hot fusion – suggest that the “tokamak” reactor approach being followed by the U.S. Department of Energy will never result in commercially viable technology. The U.S. hot fusion scientists now want to build a gigantic, complex test reactor called ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor),
