re: Polywell Fusion
I've been following it since the Google video of Bussard came out. I'm skeptical of the Bremmsstralung and synchrotron radiation losses. Even at the levels extrapolated by Bussard the net power produced by his Polywell reactor would be only a few percent above input power. Any significant powerplant would have to be gigantic. So far nothing has been stated by the researchers (Nebel et al?) that would indicate these losses would go away if it were scaled up. But I'm open minded, and I check the talk-polywell board from time to time.
Ultimately, I think the invention of devices that use almost no power is the answer.