Derek Sutherland

CSO @RealtaFusion | Advisor to @doescience (SCAC) | Science, engineering, space, energy, philosophy, music, art and coffee.

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

The speed @bscholl got this into the store is just one small example of why I’m confident we’ll be able to buy tickets to fly on Overture very soon. Onward @boomsupersonic! 🦅🇺🇸✈️💪🏻

[Blake Scholl 🛫 @bscholl]

At the suggestion of @dasutherland, Boom is making beautiful America 250 Overture desktop models for $250. Order link below.

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@bscholl @boomsupersonic Hell yeah 🇺🇸🦅✈️

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@bscholl @boomsupersonic Awesome! I’ll get my order in as soon it’s live Thanks @bscholl!

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@bscholl @boomsupersonic Yes! 🙌💪🏻🇺🇸🦅

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

Happy 250th anniversary to the greatest country on Earth that is built on some of the most important ideas in human history: the individual rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Celebrate this revolutionary thought today and the ongoing pursuit of it!

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@accuweather @grok What temperatures do experts recommend for optimal sleep quality and health?

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

Nice exhibit @msichicago! Really awesome to see a @SpaceX capsule up close for the first time.

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@isabelleboemeke Based.

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@FutureJurvetson Here’s a link to our blog post that describes what we did in more detail! https://t.co/uqmpwcEjG0

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@peterrhague Fusion-based drives target a similar Isp vs. specific power space and we have the fuel available at scale today and easy to store it. I think this is the natural stepping stone towards antimatter propulsion long term.

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@elonmusk why not fusion drives first? we have the fuel.

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

My point above was just that an ignited plasma isn’t needed, but you’re right many designs required burning plasmas. The threshold for burning plasma for D-T fusion is a plasma gain Qp = 5 because of the 20/80 split of the fusion yield between alpha particles and neutrons. So, at Qp = 5 the alpha power is the same as the input power and above 5 the alpha power is dominating.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is building SPARC in MA that should access up to Qp ~ 10 within the next few years, well before ITER even hits first plasma. Even if they underperform by a factor of 2 they still would succeed in producing a burning plasma state. After that they’re planning to build ARC in Virginia, and have already applied for a grid interconnect for 400 MW.

All other points engineering challenges are definitely true. Even with high gain demonstrated, the next step is the hard work in making it into a power plant that someone wants to buy. But, I’m pretty confident we’ll see pilot plants over the next 5-10 years for multiple concepts and then pushing to FOAKs.

Fun times ahead.

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

Ignition actually isn’t required for many fusion approaches, but is a typical goal in inertial confinement fusion.

In magnetic confinement approaches, you need sufficiently high plasma gain to reach a desired engineering gain. But most designs aren’t pursuing true “ignition,” meaning plasma gain Qp ~ Pfusion/Pin goes to infinity since the input power Pin goes to zero. Tokamaks are targeting high plasma gain (Qp > 10) and burning plasma conditions (Qp > 5 for DT fuel), but typically not “ignited” conditions.

The approach within MFE with close to true ignition potential are stellarators, but is not required for a successful power plant.

Helion in particular is pursuing a relatively low plasma gain design point using D-He3 fusion fuel confined by a magnetically compressed FRCs. Since they are leaning strongly into direct energy recovery instead of pushing everything through a thermal cycle, it’s possible to get engineering gain with a lower plasma gain.

Check out this open access article for a deep dive on power balance in fusion systems: https://t.co/EilhHUQ2Qg

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@isaiah_p_taylor Congrats!

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

The aesthetics of Starship launches are unmatched @SpaceX. Just amazing 🚀

[SpaceX @SpaceX]

Liftoff of Starship on its twelfth flight test

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@brian_yinger @is_OwenLewis 🫡 🧀🦡🍺

[Derek Sutherland @dasutherland]

@brian_yinger @is_OwenLewis Grok did. I specifically asked for the Ohio to be respected. I understand the risks in Wisconsin.