" However, I agree with the Academician Artsimovich that this is not the important question. The origin of the neutrons will become clear enough if we can increase the temperatures in our plasmas. The important question is whether we can maintain stability in our plasmas as we feed in more and more energy, and whether we can, in due course, reach the break-even point where the ernergy generated by fusion equals the energy input. Dr. Thonemann thinks this may well take ten years , and that even if we are successful it is likely to take at least another ten years before we know whether an economic fusion power station is practicable. I agree with this. Dr. Teller's timescale is even longer. "

Sir John Cockcroft referring to the prospects of different approaches to fusion power - emphasizing the important question of stability of plasmas with growing energy.
"Summary of the Conference", which was held as an evening lecture on September the 12th 1958.