Written by Tim Lash, Focus Fusion Society Contributor A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) won a DOE Office of Science award to develop new X-ray diagnostics for WEST, the Tungsten (W) Environment in Steady-state Tokamak, in France. The three-year, $1-million award will support the construction of two new devices at PPPL. This includes collaboration with French scientists and deployment of a post-doctoral researcher to test the installed devices. First of all, WEST is the upgrade to the Tora Supra, a French Tokamak situated at the nuclear research center of Cadarache, Bouches-du-Rhône in Provence. The WEST facility uses plasma-facing carbon components. Likewise, the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) at PPPL uses […]
Read MoreIs it Time for Focus Fusion Energy Taking of Center Stage? Investment in Fossil Fuels is Diminishing World View on Climate Change is Driving Energy Investment Can a Crowd Source Project Save the World? Investment Concerns over Oil and Gas Last month one of the leading infrastructure investment companies, AMP Capital barred its responsible fund managers from investing in fossil fuel companies. The decision brought this aspect of AMP’s business into line with similar decisions taken by Northern European Banks, and several church funds. AMP Capital stated it was the ‘‘growing interest and concern’’ on climate change which fuelled its decision to block investment in fossil fuel industries. These concerns are not just changing the view of investment houses, but […]
Read MoreWritten by Tim Lash, Focus Fusion Society Contributor. Recently we posted an update on the Wendelstein 7-X fusion reactor at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (MPIPP) in Greifswald Germany. This week sees more news on the stellarator front. Southwest Jiaotong University announced plans to build a stellarator fusion reactor. This undertaking will be in partnership with Japan’s National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS). NIFS already operates a similar reactor in Japan called the Large Helical Device. NIFS and Southwest Jiaotong University will design, implement and construct, plasma heating, technical diagnostics and ultimately conduct plasma experiments. They will then introduce the helical device to be called CFQS (Chinese First Quasi-axisymmetric Stellarator). This announcement is on the heels of another […]
Read MoreWhat is Fusion? Aneutronic Fusion Neutronic Fusion Devices Aneutronic Fusion Devices Dense Plasma Focus Device (DPF) What is Focus Fusion? Nuclear Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and all the stars. It is the power that drives the Universe. Fusion power, also called fusion energy, is the use of nuclear fusion reactions to provide controlled energy production. Fusion energy can: Provide cheap energy Reduce poverty, as cheap energy becomes available to all Provide clean energy, with no carbon dioxide and no radioactive waste Release money from expensive energy solutions, which can then be used to build schools, housing, hospitals, modern transportation, and clean water supplies End reliance on oil, coal, and gas Prevent wars over oil, caused by […]
Read MoreWritten by Tim Lash, Focus Fusion Society Contributor. Update: 12/12/2017 A month after the start, crowdfunding has already raised nearly 90% of it’s initial goal – and there are 5 more months to go to reach the stretch-goal! Thanks to recent changes to U.S. securities laws, LPPFusion is able to start a crowdfunding round of investment. Announced November 9th 2017, the initiative hopes to raise investment capital to support their search for clean, inexpensive, aneutronic fusion power. In 2012 President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act). Title III of this legislation went into effect on May 16th 2016 and allows for more liberal investment opportunities in private companies. LPPFusion is using these new rules to place […]
Read MoreWritten by Tim Lash, Focus Fusion Society Contributor. A joint announcement recently outlined a new collaboration between LPP Fusion and the University of California San Diego (UCSD). The Center for Energy Research (CER) at UCSD will cooperate on fusion research with LPP Fusion. The research will strive for sustained fusion power from a dense plasma focus (DPF) reactor. CER Director, Farhat N. Beg stated “LPPFusion is a leader in this field and will make available to CER its research data and expertise to help us set up our own DPF facility at UC San Diego.” The benefits of fusion energy from a DPF have guided the development of LPP Fusion’s Focus Fusion 1 (FF-1) reactor. These benefits include low cost, […]
Read MoreWritten by Tim Lash, Focus Fusion Society Contributor. These days the term hybrid normally refers to automobiles. Most car companies now offer models propelled by both battery powered electric motors and fossil fuel engines. Nuclear reactors can also come in hybrid varieties. In this case the hybrid design features both a nuclear fusion and a nuclear fission component. An article recently posted to power-technology.com offered a comparison of this hybrid reactor design in relation to some of the leading fusion research efforts. All nuclear power stations in the world today use fissile materials for fuel. They use heavy atomic isotopes which split into lighter elements under the right conditions. The most common reaction is when a heavy atom absorbs a […]
Read MoreWritten by Tim Lash, Focus Fusion Society Contributor. One of the most challenging aspects of sustainable fusion power are the high temperatures required. These high temperatures stress any imagined containment device. Researchers from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) tested a containment model lined with liquid metal. They believe such an approach could improve dealing with the severe temperature gradients of fusion plasma. Their findings are documented in an article published in the journal Nature. A plasma reactor trying to sustain fusion is a very corrosive environment. Solid reactor walls and any equipment in proximity to the plasma will become degraded over time. Metallic parts become pitted and brittle with prolonged plasma exposure. Refreshing the liquid metal in this […]
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