I recommend a little more research and a little less hyping.

1. The deuterium-deuterium reaction does not only producte helium-3. It also produces tritium, which is radioactive. By the way, there is no helium-2 waste product, as helium-2 does not exist (not stable).

2. Even if no radioactive substances are produced in the reaction directly, the escaping neutrons will be captured by nuclei inside structural materials, thus creating radioactive waste (at the latest when the reactor is decommissioned).

3. It's true that superconducting magnets have their place in fusion applications (e.g., ITER). However, this comes with fundamental design issues, and you can't simply "upgrade" your existing fusion device with superconductors. Also, the materials which (may) exhibit superconductivity at room temperature do so under extreme pressure, and they are certainly decades away from application, IF that is even possible.

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Thomas Baumgartner
Thomas Baumgartner

Written by Thomas Baumgartner

Physicist (PhD), engineer, software developer, data manager / analysist, photographer, musician, and (as of late) writer. Lives in Vienna, Austria.

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