Editing Fusion power (section)

=== Negative power methods ===
These methods inherently consume more power than they can provide via fusion.

* ''[[Fusor]]:'' An electric field heats ions to fusion conditions. The machine typically uses two spherical cages, a cathode inside the anode, inside a vacuum. These machines are not considered a viable approach to net power because of their high [[Electrical conductor|conduction]] and [[radiation]] losses.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rider |first=Todd H. |year=1995 |title=A general critique of inertial-electrostatic confinement fusion systems |journal=Physics of Plasmas |publisher=AIP Publishing |volume=2 |issue=6 |pages=1853–1872 |bibcode=1995PhPl....2.1853R |doi=10.1063/1.871273 |issn=1070-664X |s2cid=12336904 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1721.1/29869}}</ref> They are simple enough to build that amateurs have fused atoms using them.<ref>{{cite web |last=Clynes |first=Tom |date=February 14, 2012 |title=The Boy Who Played With Fusion |url=https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-02/boy-who-played-fusion/ |access-date=August 3, 2019 |website=Popular Science}}</ref>
* ''[[Colliding beam fusion]]:'' A beam of high energy particles fired at another beam or target can initiate fusion. This was used in the 1970s and 1980s to study the cross sections of fusion reactions.<ref name="osti.gov" /> However beam systems cannot be used for power because keeping a beam coherent takes more energy than comes from fusion.