People have speculated here WRT how far/near planet Earth is to TL 9,
I thought I'd add my two cents worth.
First, the magnetic analog to gravitational fields has been speculated
about since early this century. Since the gravitational force has
the same functional form as the electromagnetic force (except everything
has the same "charge") it is no surprise that one should be able to
measure a dipole-magnetic like force from relativistically moving
masses. Note that the magnitude of this field will be *tiny*, therefore
the amount of energy required to produce any measureable effect is
*enormous*. We won't be at Tau Ceti any time soon:-)
Next, regarding the recent successes in fusion experiments, the
net energy release is indeed a step forward, but unfortunately it is
a small one. It will, barring a breakthrough of extreme proportions,
still be decades before the first experimental fusion plant is on line.
In conclusion, if we want to get Earth's TL listing upgraded to 9,
our best chance is to advance computer and medical technology and let
fusion and JD slide for a while;-)
Nick Christenson
[email removed]