The Star Builders
Page 27
geothermal power, 37
Germany, fusion funding by, 13
Goldman Sachs, 12, 13–14, 147
Google, 147
government laboratories. See also specific laboratories MagLIF (magnetized liner inertial fusion) and, 157–58
spherical tokamaks and, 156–57
star builders’ support for efforts of, 160
stellarator designs and, 154–56
governments, and net zero carbon emission goal and, 28, 199, 200
government-sponsored projects fusion supported by, 24
net energy gain innovation in, 193
progress in tokamaks in, 185–86
gravity density of stars and, 80, 81, 85
energy release in nuclear reactions and, 60, 96
formation of stars and, 74–75, 110
magnetic confinement fusion and, 10, 169
net-energy-gain fusion and, 82, 110
Green New Deal proposal, 28
Günter, Sibylle acceptance problem in fission use and, 40
challenge of working with plasma physics and, 67
costs of reactors and, 201–2
focus on study of understanding plasmas and, 66
fusion progress and, 184
inefficiency of particle-smashing approach and, 63
as Max Planck Institute scientific director, 25, 66
promises from start-ups and, 153
race to build a star and, 160
saving the planet as motivation for, 27
scaling problem of providing energy to power the whole planet and, 37
Wendelstein 7-X stellarator and, 25, 154–55
Halite-Centurion experiments, 131, 190–91
Harteck, Paul, 54–55, 149
Hawker, Nick, 139 advantages of being a private star-building company and, 144
coming of the fusion future and, 26, 39
commercialization issues and, 201
factors in fission’s cost and, 40
First Light Fusion’s management by, 22–23
fusion cost estimates from, 206, 207
inertial confinement fusion and, 112, 114, 197–98
net energy gain goal and, 24
off-the-shelf technology used by, 137, 146, 202
pistol-shrimp shock-wave simulation of, 134, 134n
problems in future energy generation and, 39
promises from start-ups and, 154
public’s concerns about nuclear reactor use and, 168
safety of nuclear fusion and, 167
safety of working environment and, 180
saving the planet as motivation for, 27
as star builder, 22–24
Hawking, Stephen, 10, 27
HB11-Energy, 143
Helion Energy, 143, 146
Henri-Rebut, Paul, 107
Herrmann, Mark, 22 background of, 16–17
challenge of working with plasma physics and, 67–68
competitors and, 20, 152, 192
deuterium-tritium fusion reactions and, 55–56
government support for projects and, 14
improvements in energy yield at NIF and, 190
inertial confinement fusion and, 113
net energy gain goal and, 192
NIF ignition possibility and, 190, 191
NIF management by, 189
precision needed in process and, 125
radiation risk and, 178
Rayleigh-Taylor instability and, 130
safety of nuclear fusion and, 167
saving the planet as motivation for, 27, 28
as star builder, 15–17
Hinkley Point fission plant, Somerset, United Kingdom, 40, 202
Hiroshima, Japan, bombing (1945) of, 165
Horton, Lorne, 89–92 background of, 89–90
JET machine mechanism and, 92, 105, 106, 108, 109
radiation risk from fusion fuel and, 175
reliability of reactors and, 103
safety of working environment and, 180
hotspot ignition, 124
Hurricane, Omar, 158 NIF management by, 189–90
as star builder, 17–18
hybrid fission-fusion reactors, 192
hydroelectricity. See also renewable energy Banqiao Dam failure (1975), China, 181
energy crisis solution using, 36–37
lack of plants for, 37
public support for using, 40
world energy consumption and, 34
hydrogen composition of humans and, 86
fusion using isotopes of, 51
nuclear fusion reactions with, 87, 93–94
star formation and, 74, 75, 76, 77
Sun’s fusion reactions and, 79, 83–84
tokamak plasma and, 95, 101, 104
hydrogen bombs atomic bombs compared with, 166
Bikini Atoll testing (1953) of, 161–64, 173–74
controlled fusion reactors for power compared with, 8, 166, 167
net energy gain in, 47
nuclear fusion and fission basis for, 166
proposed space exploration use of, 214
radiation exposure from, 163, 174
Teller’s idea of using to generate electricity, 115–16
HyperJet Fusion Corporation, 143
ignition definition of, 9
EAST tokamak in China and, 193
hotspot ignition, 124
increased temperature and fusion reactions for, 92
JET and, 92
Lawson’s theory and equations on conditions for, 109
Livermore progress in, 16
magnetic fusion machines and, 185, 217
NIF possibilities for, 126, 188, 190, 191
Imperial College London, 26, 73, 96–97, 126–27, 144
inertial confinement fusion, 10 China’s use of, 14
costs of, 122, 198, 206
driver focusing mechanism in, 116–20
First Light Fusion’s use of, 24, 135, 190, 197–98
fusion plasmas timing in, 113–14
Halite-Centurion experiments and, 131, 190–91
laser improvements in, 190–91
later use of simulations replacing, 23
LIFE power plant prototype for, 199, 206
Los Alamos National Laboratory and, 24
low meltdown possibility in, 168–69
MagLIF experiment and, 157–58, 190
magnetic confinement compared with, 113–14
mechanism of, 10
mix of temperature, density, and confinement in, 113
net energy gain goal for, 130–32, 190–91, 199, 217
NIF’s use of, 17, 111, 112–13, 118, 126–29, 134, 188–91, 194, 198, 199, 212
Nuckolls’s experiments and, 116–18
plasma instabilities in, 129
plasma physics’ challenge for, 120
reactor design and, 195, 196–97
shock waves in, 134, 135
start-ups use of, 22
target fabrication in, 121–23, 126–28
Teller’s conception of, 115–16
timing and number of repeat shots in, 197–98
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 33–34, 36, 45
International Atomic Energy Agency, 14
International Energy Agency, 205, 206
International Space Station, 202
IPSOS poll, 40
ITER tokamak, Cadarache, France, 186–88, 193, 194, 197, 201 breeding tritium and, 196
construction delays in, 187–88
cost of, 202, 203–4
design of 187–88
expense of buildings, 202, 203–4
high temperatures for fusion in, 195
international agreement for building, 186–88, 191
international satellite sites for, 187
net energy gain goal and, 191
plasma Q goal of, 188
Japan atomic bombings (1945) in, 154
ITER tokamak, Cadarache, France, and, 186–87
JT-60 tokamak in, 185
Joint European Torus (JET) reactor building and shared management of, 88–89, 106–7
confinement of plasma in, 186
control room for monitoring data in, 92–93
cost of, 107, 202
deuterium alone used in, 94–95
high temperatures for fusion in, 91–95, 194
ignition and, 92
magnetic fields for plasma confinement during, 96
maintaining internal chamber wall conditions in, 104–6
physical setting for, 90
Q measure and, 92, 100, 105, 107–8, 183–84
Rimini’s role investigating instabilities of, 98–99, 102–3
robotics at, 196–97
safety of working environment at, 180
success of energy gain in, 107–8, 183–84, 191
trapping hot hydrogen in, 95–96
JT-60 tokamak, Japan, 185
Kingham, David, 33, 139–40, 141, 153–54, 205
Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), 184, 185
Laberge, Michel, 145
Large Hadron Collider, CERN, 52, 202
Larmor, Joseph, 96
Larmor radius, 96
laser fusion, 120, 192
lasers, in inertial confinement fusion, 117–19
lasers, Maiman’s invention of, 117
Laser MegaJoule, France, 192
Lawrence, Ernest O., 111, 173, 183
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, 78, 111–12 Halite-Centurion experiments at, 131, 190–91
inertial fusion energy goal of, 17
LIFE power plant prototype at, 199, 206
location of, 110–11
magnetic confinement device at, 97–98
NIF at. See National Ignition Facility solar energy used by, 111–12
Lawrenceville Plasma Physics. See LPP Fusion
Lawson, John equations on conditions by, 109–10, 113, 129, 130, 132, 142, 156, 193–94
fusion theory of, 108–10
LCOE (levelized cost of electricity), 205, 206
Legal & General Capital, 13
Lerner, Eric, 148–50
LIFE power plant prototype, 199, 206
lithium, energy security and access to, 43
Livermore National Laboratory. See Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lockheed Martin, 12, 24, 143, 148, 193
Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Halite-Centurion experiments at, 131, 190–91
inertial confinement fusion at, 24
LPP Fusion, 24, 143, 148–50
Mach, Ernest, 52
Machine 3 electromagnetic rail gun, 135–36
MacKay, David J. C., 32
MagLIF (magnetized liner inertial fusion), 157–58, 190
magnetic confinement fusion, 10 Culham Centre and, 24
early stages of experiments with, 159
ignition possibilities for, 185, 217
inertial confinement compared with, 113–14
later use of simulations replacing, 23
mechanism of, 10
mix of temperature, density, and confinement in, 113, 185
need for bigger tokamaks in, 186–88
net energy gain goal of, 186
progress in, 185, 186
Teller’s opinion of, 115
zero meltdown possibility in, 168, 169
magnetic fields plasma confinement with, 95–102, 110
tokamaks with, 141
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, 140–41
magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF), 157–58, 190
MAGPIE plasma machine, 127
Maiman, Theodore, 117
Mars, spacecraft for exploration of, 215
MAST Upgrade spherical tokamak, 157, 196
Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, 24–25, 66, 67, 154–56, 184–85
megajoule lasers, 14, 192, 193
Merkel, Angela, 13, 24–25
Microsoft, 12, 145, 147
MIFTI, 143
Model C stellarator, 156
Mowry, Christofer, 148
Nagasaki, Japan, bombing (1945) of, 165
NASA, 2, 10, 140, 159
National Ignition Facility (NIF), California, 9–10, 79, 111–31, 188–93 commercialization and, 198
competitors and, 152, 192
computer’s role in success of, 189
costs of, 201, 202
deuterium-tritium fusion reactions used by, 62–63
energy yield increases in, 189, 190
ignition possibilities for, 126, 188, 190, 191
inertial fusion energy at, 17, 111, 112–13, 118, 126–29, 134, 188–91, 194, 198, 199, 212
laser improvements in, 189–91
laser shot session at, 1–7
net energy gain goal for, 130–32, 191, 192, 199, 217
progress in, 188–91
radiation safety precautions at, 177–78
solar energy used by, 111–12
target fabrication at, 121–23, 126–28
zero meltdown possibility at, 168–69
net energy gain Carling on ability to achieve, 144–45
Chinese efforts in, 192–93
First Light Fusion experiments in, 138, 193
as goal for star builders, 9
inertial confinement fusion and, 130–32, 190–91, 199, 217
JET and, 107–8, 183–84, 191
Laser MegaJoule, France, and, 192
Lawson’s theory and equations on conditions for, 109, 193–94
magnetic confinement fusion and, 186
NIF and, 130–32, 191, 192, 199, 217
nuclear fusion in stars and, 69, 78–79, 82–86
plasma physics understanding and, 67–68
progress in race for, 191–94
Russian laser fusion and, 192
stellarators and, 193
Tokamak Energy and, 142, 144–45, 193
net zero carbon emission policy, 28, 46, 199, 200
neutrons atom structure and, 51
breeding tritium and, 196
chamber construction and bombardment by, 90, 177, 178–79, 195, 196
deuterium-tritium fusion and, 51–52, 55, 57–58, 176, 179
hydrogen bomb damage from, 163
neutron-free fusion reactions, 147, 149
radioactivity from fusion reactions and, 176–78
NIF. See National Ignition Facility
Nuckolls, John, 67, 115–18, 120, 129
nuclear fission climate change solution using, 39–41, 216
deaths per exajoule for, 181
Einstein’s theory on, 58
problems using, 40–41
public support for using, 40
regulatory considerations for, 40–41
renewables used with, 41
nuclear fission reactors meltdown possibilities for, 168
potential for nuclear weapon creation related to, 40, 167
nuclear fusion arguments for using, 42
availability of two reactants needed for, 43
Big Bang and, 72–73, 149, 186
carbon dioxide emissions using, 42
carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) cycle and, 79–80
climate change solution using, 45, 46–47, 199–200
confinement and, 68, 69
costs of, 200–7
density and, 68, 69
development timeline for, 45–46, 183, 185
difficulty of getting net energy from, 61–64
early ideas about, 8–9
end of life stars and, 83–86
energy crisis solution using, 41–46
energy released in, 58–59
energy security and access to, 42–43
engineers and technological challenge of, 139
four fundamental forces of nature affecting, 59–61, 96
ignition in, 92
land area needed for, 42
Lawson’s theory and equations on conditions for, 108–10
, 113, 129, 130, 132, 142, 156, 193–94
magnetic fields for plasma confinement during, 95–102, 110, 111
motivations for working with, 45
number of years left for supply of, if used exclusively, 43–45
plasma control devices in, 185
plasma physics understanding of factors in, 67–69
progress made in, 183–86
public support for using, 40
Q measure in, 92, 100, 105, 107–8, 183–84
renewables used with, 41–42
risks in using, 42–43
Rutherford’s first artificial nuclear reaction and, 53
stars and, 77–83
temperature and, 64–65, 68, 69
trapping hot hydrogen for, 95–106
nuclear fusion energy high temperatures needed for production of, 91–95
private sector and, 143–44
star power and, 47
nuclear fusion reactors hydrogen bombs compared with, 8, 166, 167
low level of risk associated with, 168–69, 180
meltdown possibilities for, 168
plasma turbulence problem in, 67, 81
potential for nuclear weapon creation related to, 42, 166–67
nuclear weapons Halite-Centurion experiments with, 131, 190–91
nuclear fission and potential for proliferation of, 40, 167
nuclear fusion power plants and potential for creation of, 42, 166–67
Teller’s “Plowshare” program for, 214
oil. See also fossil fuels energy security and access to, 42–43
number of years left for supply of, if used exclusively, 43–44
Oishi, Matashichi, 161–63
Oliphant, Mark, 54–55, 149
Pickworth, Louisa, 126–29, 130, 132, 119, 158
pinch effect, 97, 149
Pisanello, Gianluca, 136–38
pistol shrimp shock waves Hawker’s computer simulation of shock waves made by, 134
noise generation by, 133–34
piston design, at General Fusion, 145–46