Comment Keep at it, guys! (Score 0, Flamebait) 404
Fusion is difficult, REALLY difficult. But once it gets working, it will provide abundantly cheap energy with relatively few side effects. The availability of fusion will trigger a revolution similar to the beginning of the industrial age. Cheap, clean energy with no dependence on hateful towel-heads - what's not to like?
Fusion is a long-term project, so whoever funds it risks not seeing the rewards. So all those who could be funding research are holding back in hopes that someone else will do the work for them. Shareholders demand consistent and predictable profits, so the standard capitalist model of venture capitalization no longer works for powering "ventures" in the original sense of the word.
Wouldn't it be funny if they got it working in China, say, or Japan, and they'd end up collecting lifetimes of royalties from the US?
I would love to see this (both the expensive high-power stuff and the cheap off-chance research) funded much more heavily by the governments of the world.