Ignition of nuclear fuel achieved in hot fusion: what does this mean?

The claimed breakthrough in hot fusion (see this) is the latest hype in our hype-filled world. Ignition, which initiates energy production, must be achieved but this is only a small step in the ladder leading to a real fusion.

One of the problems of which I learned only some time ago is the following: the energy feed does not appear to raise the temperature as expected but goes somewhere. The underlying physics is poorly understood. The TGD inspired solution could be in terms of Hagedorn temperature predicted for flux tube like objects, analogs of strings, predicted by TGD. New degrees open and the temperature does not increase and reactions do not start to produce energy. This problem should be solved (see this) .

The hypish news tells that ignition has been achieved. This is certainly a big achievement. There is an energy feed by hundreds of lasers on an energy pellet and this system indeed ignites and starts to produce more energy than the input energy from lasers. However, the entire system however needs energy input, which is exponentially higher than the energy required by lasers so that there is a long way to go for nuclear fusion.

This one little step in progress, which one can hope to lead to real hot fusion. But is it so?

In the TGD Universe, "cold fusion" using dark nuclei (in the TGD sense) would be an alternative solution to the problem. The huge energy feed needed in heating the system to the required temperature would be overcome. As a matter of fact, cold fusion could actually heat the system to the temperature required by hot fusion. Also stellar nuclei as fusion reactors could have emerged in this way. But this is not the time for new theoretical physics so it will take decades before cold fusion can be taken seriously.

See the article Could TGD provide new solutions to the energy problem?.

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

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