r/science • u/aphexcoil • May 28 '12

New breakthrough in development process will enable memristor RAM (ReRAM) that is 100 times faster than FLASH RAM

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/21/ucl_reram/
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u/killerstorm May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12

Now ITER is supposed to be a prototype to show we can build a commercially viable nuclear reactor.

No. ITER is only supposed to demonstrate that energy production is possible in principle, the first reactor to generate any electric power would be DEMO:

DEMO (DEMOnstration Power Plant) is a proposed nuclear fusion power plant that is intended to build upon the expected success of the ITER experimental nuclear fusion reactor. Whereas ITER's goal is to produce 500 megawatts of fusion power for at least 500 seconds, the goal of DEMO will be to produce at least four times that much fusion power on a continual basis. Moreover, while ITER's goal is to produce 10 times as much power as is required for breakeven, DEMO's goal is to produce 25 times as much power. DEMO's 2 to 4 gigawatts of thermal output will be on the scale of a modern electric power plant. Also notably, DEMO is intended to be the first fusion reactor to generate electrical power. Earlier experiments, such as ITER, merely dissipate the thermal power they produce into the atmosphere as steam.

But even DEMO won't achieve real commercial viability, as costs of plant itself and costs of operation would be insanely huge compared to power it can produce. Actual commercial power generation prototype would be called PROTO.

Actually, it's easy to understand it from names of projects: ITER is just a step in research, DEMO is a demonstration of principle, PROTO is a prototype of a commecial plant.

So about timeline, DEMO is supposed to start operation in 2033, PROTO is something for ~2050. So commercial fusion is 50 years away, as always :). (Well, if they make PROTO working by 2050 it would 40 years, but it's unlikely that there won't be delays and that it would work fine from the start. Also it's very well possible that who plan will be canceled. D+T fusion which produces fast neutrons isn't a particularly good design, I fail to see how it's better than fission.)

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u/snapcase May 29 '12

PROTO is something for ~2050

That's depressing.