Introduction—Fusion, forever the energy of tomorrow?
Will fusion as an energy source finally become an everyday, commercial reality in the next decade or so—or not come to fruition within the lifetime of anyone reading this sentence?
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
November 2024
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
November 2024
A donut shaped plasma forms during operation of the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Temperatures around the central column can exceed 10 million degrees Celsius. (Video via PPPL; cover by Thomas Gaulkin.)
Introduction—Fusion, forever the energy of tomorrow?
Will fusion as an energy source finally become an everyday, commercial reality in the next decade or so—or not come to fruition within the lifetime of anyone reading this sentence?
Ferreting out the truth about fusion: Interview with Bob Rosner
This theoretical physicist and self-described “plasma guy” (and former head of Argonne National Laboratory) delves into whether can fusion work quickly enough to make a difference for climate change. And he says there are other reasons to pursue it, even with a likely year 2100 timeline.
The entanglement of fusion energy research and bombs
Not many people seem aware of the connection between fusion research and nuclear weapons. But the two have a long history.
“Fusion is not a typical bet”: Interview with Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Coopersmith
The trouble with fusion, from a venture capitalist's perspective.
An overview of the fusion landscape
Forty-five different private companies around the globe (with total financing of $7.1 billion) are engaged in developing fusion energy—and it sometimes feels like there are 45 different ways to try to do it. The former head of the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab surveys the scene, and gives some highlights of the different approaches.
After ITER: What China and others are doing in fusion. Interview with MIT’s Dennis Whyte
The former dean of MIT's plasma fusion dept—which is intimately tied to the privately funded Commonwealth Fusion Systems, current darling of the market—gives an insider’s take on what is happening outside of the publicly funded, international fusion research consortium known as ITER. He presents an especially close look at China’s independent “artificial sun” project.
The fuel supply quandary for fusion reactors
A shortage of tritium—a key part of the fuel needed to run a deuterium-tritium fusion reactor—may leave this energy system with an empty tank. In order to “breed” more tritium you first need a working fusion reactor, and there may not be enough tritium around to make that happen.
Fusion: The Uncertain Certainty
A sample of what the Bulletin has published before on fusion energy research, to provide a little perspective.
United Kingdom nuclear weapons, 2024
For decades, the United Kingdom has maintained a stockpile of approximately 225 nuclear warheads—up to 120 of which are available for delivery by four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. This stockpile is now increasing.
Ferreting out the truth about fusion: Interview with Bob Rosner
This theoretical physicist and self-described “plasma guy” (and former head of Argonne National Laboratory) delves into whether can fusion work quickly enough to make a difference for climate change. And he says there are other reasons to pursue it, even with a likely year 2100 timeline.
The entanglement of fusion energy research and bombs
Not many people seem aware of the connection between fusion research and nuclear weapons. But the two have a long history.
“Fusion is not a typical bet”: Interview with Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Coopersmith
The trouble with fusion, from a venture capitalist's perspective.
An overview of the fusion landscape
Forty-five different private companies around the globe (with total financing of $7.1 billion) are engaged in developing fusion energy—and it sometimes feels like there are 45 different ways to try to do it. The former head of the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab surveys the scene, and gives some highlights of the different approaches.
After ITER: What China and others are doing in fusion. Interview with MIT’s Dennis Whyte
The former dean of MIT's plasma fusion dept—which is intimately tied to the privately funded Commonwealth Fusion Systems, current darling of the market—gives an insider’s take on what is happening outside of the publicly funded, international fusion research consortium known as ITER. He presents an especially close look at China’s independent “artificial sun” project.
The fuel supply quandary for fusion reactors
A shortage of tritium—a key part of the fuel needed to run a deuterium-tritium fusion reactor—may leave this energy system with an empty tank. In order to “breed” more tritium you first need a working fusion reactor, and there may not be enough tritium around to make that happen.
Fusion: The Uncertain Certainty
A sample of what the Bulletin has published before on fusion energy research, to provide a little perspective.
United Kingdom nuclear weapons, 2024
For decades, the United Kingdom has maintained a stockpile of approximately 225 nuclear warheads—up to 120 of which are available for delivery by four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. This stockpile is now increasing.
A donut shaped plasma forms during operation of the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Temperatures around the central column can exceed 10 million degrees Celsius. (Video via PPPL; cover by Thomas Gaulkin.)
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