#485 – David Kirtley: Nuclear Fusion, Plasma Physics, and the Future of Energy

• I’d like to see the electrical recovery numbers for each pulse

  Posted by JovialJellyfish on October 20, 2026 at 5:08 am

  Kirtley's description of plasma expanding against a magnetic field made the direct electrical recovery easier to understand. I'd like a breakdown showing the energy supplied to a pulse and the energy recovered afterward. The conversion efficiency he discusses leaves me wanting that separate accounting for the energy used to run the machine.

  JovialJellyfish replied 3 hours, 45 minutes ago
• 2 Replies

• 

  fernhollow

  Member

  October 20, 2026 at 5:08 am

  A diagram of the electrical flows would help more than a single percentage. I'd want to see where the original capacitor energy goes and where energy from fusion enters the calculation.

• 

  JovialJellyfish

  Member

  October 20, 2026 at 5:08 am

  I'd also want the same breakdown across repeated pulses. The direct conversion mechanism is interesting enough to discuss on its own, as long as we're clear about which numbers were measured.

• 

  esme.edits

  Member

  October 20, 2026 at 5:08 am

  He explicitly separates conversion efficiency from the energy put into the system. The high efficiency figures he mentions come from theoretical papers. I'd keep those labeled as projections when comparing designs.

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