is+it+used?


 * Good Rating **

It is truly great news that scientists are moving ever closer to the goal of fusion energy… nature’s own way of manifesting energy on the grand scale! One small correction is needed to the article above… they fired the NIF lasers at a very high energy level (as a part of the tests before they start the actual fusion shots)… but this was not a fusion shot. It is important to get everything working absolutely perfectly and then to progress gradually up the energy scale with the laser shots. It is not yet known exactly where the laser energy threshold is for triggering fusion and, at these high energy levels, the lasers can easily be damaged by the firing process. Later this year (2010) a carefully designed set of shots, gradually increasing in laser power) will begin, and there is high confidence that, during this sequence (between 2010 and 2012), a fusion burn will occur … with net energy gain. THAT is the next big step along the path to the “Holy Grail” of clean green energy… although the story won’t be over by any means. Beyond what has been termed “First Ignition” there is the challenge of taking this knowledge forward and building a “test bed” which will be used to develop all the materials and technologies needed for a laser fusion power plant, capable of delivering electricity on the industrial scale. The international HiPER Project is now in preparation for the moment when NIF achieves first ignition. Already ten nations have started working together to prepare for that next big step, and they have partners across the world. There is no shortage of governments who have already recognized the huge potential of harnessing the method that nature herself uses to release energy on the grand scale. The green energy lobby is approaching the point where it really will come of age. Those who really care for our precious planet and who have also taken the trouble to learn how the various energy approaches actually work now understand that, just because fusion energy employs a “nuclear” process, it doesn’t need to be equated to the past horrors of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Nuclear fusion will be a very clean process and will also bring a period of the stability associated with all nations having a reliable energy fuel source for the truly long term. As consumption of fossil fuels runs ever faster in the developing world it is up to the scientists (and the politicians who can fund their work) to ensure that we develop another way of making the energy we need in time to prevent us entirely ruining our planet. That perhaps is the biggest challenge of all… Fusion is taking longer to master than the life of any government, and it will take politicians of truly exceptional vision and selflessness to help see the work through. There is a need between now and the achievement of fusion energy for many different approaches, including renewable and fission too, (since otherwise the lights will soon start going out). But fusion must be mastered; otherwise we will be visiting the most appalling future on our own grandchildren. For me, that is NOT an option!
 * By James Makepeace on Feb 12, 2010**

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**Bad Rating** "Governments should not waste our money on a dangerous toy," Jan Van de Putte of Greenpeace International said when ITER was announced in 2005. Van de Putte predicted it will never be efficient - so why bother? Spokesperson Bridget Woodman said: "Nuclear fusion has all the problems of nuclear power, including producing nuclear waste and the risks of a nuclear accident." 