Gubbins:
- dialectal, British : fish parings or refuse
broadly : any bits and pieces : SCRAPS- British : GADGETS, GADGETRY
// the gubbins for changing a tire
// all the navigational gubbins
— J. L. Rhys- British : a foolish or futile person : SIMPLETON
// you silly gubbins [Merriam-Webster]
Noted in “Can a slew of nuclear fusion start-ups deliver unlimited clean energy?” Thomas Lewton, NewScientist (22 October 2022, paywall):
It remains to be seen if solutions like this can work in practice. Even if they do, no-one has yet built the gubbins that would surround a reactor to make electricity non-stop. Exhaust systems, heat exchangers, turbines – all of it must be custom-built from materials that can withstand the high-energy neutrons released during fusion. “Unless these companies have a secret research line in materials, after a few months of operation [the reactors] will simply fall apart,” says Donné.
