How long until we hit PL 6?

[kenobi65]

Utah has been at PL 6 since 1989.

 

[Eternal Knot Games]

A source, cannot find it again, said that steam trains could have been invented in Greek/Roman times (and they did have a working steam engine, to open temple doors) but it was not because they were unable to find anything else to do with the slaves...

So it could be 5 years or 400 years depending on politics more than anything else.

 

[Old Gumphrey]

Who says fusion is even the next step? There could be an amazing unheard of breakthrough in the next 5 years that changes everything from here on out.

 

[kenobi65]

Who says fusion is even the next step? There could be an amazing unheard of breakthrough in the next 5 years that changes everything from here on out.

Well, certainly anything is possible...but the conventional wisdom seems to be that controlled fusion is the next logical step.

 

[Meloncov]

Optimistically, we will have safe, efficent (as in, actually makes more energy then it uses) fusion plants within a decade. The big issue, however, is economics. The tokomak plants that are used today to create fusion reactions are obsenely expensive; in the billions of dollars per unit. While mass producing them will drop the cost some, it'll still be a while before fusion is economicly sound.