- www.iter.org/sci/MakingitWork ITER page mentions that 80% of energy goes out on neutrons and that capturing this is a major challenge[ref]
- 2024 DARPA announcement: x.com/DARPA/status/1819112110988657075
We're requesting info & ideas for fundamental breakthroughs to enable high-power, direct conversion from nuclear energy into electricity by converting reactor neutrons to alphas or betas for voltaics.
- youtu.be/NT8-b5YEyjo?t=1435 epic orphan source recovery video
Most promising approaches as of 2020:
Why Private Billions Are Flowing Into Fusion by Bloomberg (2022)
Source. - Joint European Torus
- General Fusion: compress with liquid metal. Intends to demo in JET site.
- Helion Energy: direct fusion to electricity conversion without steam, direct from magnetic field movements
- First Light: shootjobs.lever.co/proximafusion/23aab9a8-34ec-40d2-bb14-440f1130021c microscopic objct at a target to crush it so much that fusion happens
- 2025 techcrunch.com/2025/09/01/every-fusion-startup-that-has-raised-over-100m/ Every fusion startup that has raised over $100M
Once again, relies on superconductivity to reach insane magnetic fields. Superconductivity is just so important.
Ciro Santilli saw a good presentation about it once circa 2020, it seems that the main difficulty of the time was turbulence messing things up. They have some nice simulations with cross section pictures e.g. at: www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937941.
Articles by others on the same topic
Electricity generation converts another form of energy into electrical energy supplied to an electrical load or electric power system. A rotating electrical generator uses electromagnetic induction; a solar cell instead converts incident radiation through the photovoltaic effect. Neither process creates energy. The relevant input and output boundaries determine which losses enter a quoted conversion fraction.
For an original ideal rotating-coil model, let turns of area rotate at constant angular velocity in a uniform magnetic field . With the coil normal initially aligned with that field, the linked magnetic flux and induced electromotive force areFor , , and , the peak is and the sinusoidal root mean square value is . Doubling the speed doubles both the amplitude and frequency in this model. The DOE exposition develops the rotating-conductor waveform and distinguishes peak from effective values.[ref]
DOE Fundamentals Handbook Electrical Science. Volume 3, Module 7, AC Generation Analysis, printed pp.1–6, sinusoidal generation and effective values
An open-circuit induced electric potential difference does not specify deliverable power. On connecting a load, the resulting electric current produces an opposing electromagnetic torque; sustained electrical output requires corresponding mechanical input and provision for losses. For a stipulated steady shaft input of and combined losses of , output is and the shaft-to-electrical conversion fraction is . This fraction excludes any earlier conversion from fuel or another primary supply into shaft power.
A proposed demonstration couples a small electrical generator to a controllable drive, measures rotational speed and open-circuit waveform, then applies several known electrical loads while recording shaft torque, electric current and terminal electric potential difference. The additional mechanical effort under load tests the electromechanical conversion power balance; an open-circuit waveform alone cannot test that balance.
Electricity generation is the process of producing electrical energy from various sources of primary energy. This process involves converting different forms of energy into electrical energy that can be used for various applications, such as powering homes, industries, and businesses. There are several methods and technologies used for electricity generation, including: 1. **Thermal Generation**: This method involves burning fossil fuels (such as coal, natural gas, or oil) to produce heat, which is then used to convert water into steam.

