Energy Secretary Steve Chu and Focus Fusion
Energy Secretary Steven Chu gave a talk at Google, Oct. 26, 2009. During the question and answer period, someone asks him about Focus Fusion.
How Hard Is It?
Fusion faces serious technical challenges. Splitting the atom is a walk in the park compared to fusing atoms. If DT fusion is difficult, aneutronic fusion faces even more daunting challenges.
Fusion - net energy from a controlled fusion reaction - has managed to elude researchers for over 60 years. What is so difficult about fusion? Why is it easier to blow stuff up than to coax out a steady supply of energy? "Fusion challenge" looks at the technical challenges fusion researchers face. For mainstream researchers, working on the Tokamak and Magnetic Fusion energy, the technical challenges have been summed up in the ReNeW project. For alternative fusion researchers, the information is more scattered. This section will look at the challenges the dpf has to overcome, and begin to compile the information on challenges faced by other approaches. It also looks at the specific challenges facing the DPF as a fusion reactor. The section on "aneutronic fusion" defines aneutronic fusion and talks about the even greater technical difficulty of achieving it. Aneutronic fusion is one of the most difficult problems in the world to solve - and will be the most rewarding if it is solved. On the front lines of facing this challenge are a smattering of physicists, and a whole lot of resistance.
Read me first for an overview »
Entries in this department, ordered by date:
Clearing up Misconceptions
As part of our Society’s role in educating the public about focus fusion, we are trying to clear up misinformation that is circulating on the Web. Two types of issues have emerged: questions about the safety of focus fusion and about its scientific feasibility.
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