WUWT December 14, 2017 Schematic of proposed laser-driven hydrogen-boron fusion, which generates energy and insignificant levels of radioactivity. Laser 1 produces a 10-kilotesla field, which is sustained for about a nanosecond after being generated, trapping the hydrogen-boron fuel in the cylindrical axis of a magnetic coil. A 30kJ picosecond pulse from Laser 2 induces plasma … Read more
Phys.org December 13, 2017 A laser-driven technique for creating fusion that dispenses with the need for radioactive fuel elements and leaves no toxic radioactive waste is now within reach, say researchers. Dramatic advances in powerful, high-intensity lasers are making it viable for scientists to pursue what was once thought impossible: creating fusion energy based on … Read more
Princeton Dec. 12, 2017 To mark the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which supports basic science at universities, the DOE has compiled 40 research highlights from the past 40 years, including several Nobel Prize-winning results. Nat Fisch, a professor of astrophysical sciences and the director of Princeton University’s Program … Read more
PPPL December 12, 2017 Stewart Prager Stewart Prager, physicist and long-time fusion energy scientist who was director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) from 2009 to 2016, has been honored with a 2017 Distinguished Career Award from Fusion Power Associates (FPA). Prager, a leading contributor to the advancement of … Read more
PPPL December 6, 2017 Physicists Amitava Bhattacharjee and C.S. Chang More than 210 million core hours on two of the most powerful supercomputers in the nation have been won by two teams led by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The highly competitive awards from the DOE Office … Read more
BBC 7 December 2017 Inside a nuclear fusion research device at Culham Science Centre An £86m investment in new facilities for nuclear fusion research in the UK has been announced by the government. Two new “centres of excellence” will be created for the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) fusion research programme at Culham Science Centre … Read more
CCFE 07/12/2017 An £86 million Government investment in the nuclear fusion research programme at Culham has today been announced. This investment will fund the building and operation of a National Fusion Technology Platform at Culham Science Centre, expected to open in 2020. The new facilities will support British industry and help to secure around £1 … Read more
Yahoo News By Geert De Clercq, Reuters•December 6, 2017 PARIS (Reuters) – ITER, an international project to build a prototype nuclear fusion reactor in southern France, said it is facing delays if the Trump administration does not reconsider budget cuts. ITER hopes to generate power from a process similar to the nuclear fusion that powers … Read more
New China 2017-12-07 The screenshot shows International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Director-General Bernard Bigot speaks in an interview with Xinhua News Agency in Washington D.C., the United States, on Dec. 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Guo Yina) WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — Construction of the world’s largest nuclear fusion experiment, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), is now 50 … Read more
Newsweek BY HANNAH OSBORNE ON 12/6/17 The world’s biggest fusion reactor is now 50 percent complete, with experts now estimating it will be ready for its first stage of operation in December 2025, with the first power plants up and running by 2040. Fusion energy—the same process that powers the sun—potentially offers near limitless clean … Read more