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I'm not sure if this should go into SLAM or OT, so if I've erred, please move this.

President Bush has (apparently) put the US back into the ITER project after we left it in the mid-1990s. We previously pulled out due to tiffs about where it was to be sited (IIRC, we wanted it in the US, everyone else said no).

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/energy-tech-03b.html

Already posted this in SLAM a week ago, although I posted it inside another thread instead of making a new one.

It's good news.

ITER will be the first fusion device to produce a burning plasma and to operate at a high power level for such long duration experiments. The fusion power produced in the ITER plasma will be 10 times greater than the external power added to the plasma.

how is that possible? it's energy output is greater than it's energy input by a factor of 10? if i sound dumb, please forguve me for i am most decidedly not a physisist.

Col. Crackpot wrote:

ITER will be the first fusion device to produce a burning plasma and to operate at a high power level for such long duration experiments. The fusion power produced in the ITER plasma will be 10 times greater than the external power added to the plasma.

how is that possible? it's energy output is greater than it's energy input by a factor of 10? if i sound dumb, please forguve me for i am most decidedly not a physisist.

Nuclear fusion is an exothermal reaction.

Col. Crackpot wrote: how is that possible? it's energy output is greater than it's energy input by a factor of 10? if i sound dumb, please forguve me for i am most decidedly not a physisist.

That was a dumb thing to say but you are forgiven .

doh!
<<----realizes he asked an incredibly dumb question, whistles a distractionary tune and qucily walks away.