Is alluring but elusive fusion energy possible in our lifetime?

PBS | January 18, 2017 JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: the hunt to create fusion energy. While many people remain worried about pursuing further development of nuclear power, some researchers believe nuclear fusion could hold the key to clean and plentiful energy. There have been many false starts before, but some scientists see real reason for … Read more

Brandon Sorbom: Designing a fusion future

PFSC Paul Rivenberg | PSFC | January 18, 2017 “I was interested in clean energy. In a physics textbook, on literally the last page, they made a reference to fusion, ‘the power source of the future.’ I was intrigued and decided to find out more.” Brandon Sorbom, Graduate Student, PSFC Lillie Paquette / MIT School … Read more

The World Needs Nuclear Fusion Energy Breakthrough or Else

Industry Tap David Russell Schilling | January 17th, 2017 Nuclear Fusion (Image Courtesy Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deuterium_Ionized.JPG#/media/File:Deuterium_Ionized.JPG) While the world continues to discover new sources of oil and natural gas, some of the signs of peak oil, such as Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar oilfield reaching its peak, continue to put a damper on future expectations for oil-based economies … Read more

EUROfusion welcomes Ukraine into the family

EuroFusion 16th January 2017 Representatives from Euratom, the European Commission and EUROfusion visited the QSPA plasma accelerator in 2015 . “Joining EUROfusion and establishment of Ukrainian Research Unit is an important milestone for our fusion community and we expect further fruitful joint work within EUROfusion Roadmap,” Igor Garkusha, Kharkov Institute for Physics and Technology (KIPT), … Read more

Simulation of a fusion plasma blob with 1 billion particles

Fusion Group January 16, 2017 by Xavier Sáez Researchers at the National Institute of Fusion Science (NIFS) succeeded for the first time in the world in conducting a micro-level simulation of a plasma blob in the “edge region” of the plasma. This simulation ran on the Plasma Simulator supercomputer, which is dedicated exclusively to plasma … Read more

An Intensive Analysis of Lockheed-Martins’ Fusion Effort

by Matthew Moynihan, Ph.D. DECEMBER 11, 2016 Lockheed Martin Compact Fusion Reactor Concept, Confinement Model and T4B Experiment (PDF Poster) This article was written over a few weeks in November and December of 2016. As always, the best way to read this is on PDF – so I encourage you to download this. The article … Read more

Siberian Physicists Ready for Next Step Toward Inexpensive Nuclear Energy

Sputnik News 03.01.2017 Plasma studies facilities at Institute for Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk Scientists of the Siberia-based Institute of nuclear physics (INP) are planning to complete the first stage of their work on the development of an alternative fusion reactor, a project which is considerably more commercially attractive than the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER). Scientists … Read more

Fusion Research: Time to Set a New Path

issues.org Summer 2015 by Robert L. Hirsch The inherent limitations of the tokamak design for fusion power will prevent it from becoming commercially viable, but the lessons from this effort can inform future research. Burning wood was an important source of energy for early humankind, because it had no competition, no cost concerns, and manageable … Read more