Project: Fusion documentary by professional science doc folk

[tcg]

Perhaps we are trying to resonate with the wrong industry. Reporters of news must necessarily be concerned primarliy with results which can be whipped up into eye catching headlines. They have already been burned reporting on fusion “breakthroughs” and are understandably reserved. Perhaps we should be trying to catch the eye of an industry which is primarily concerned with story, with the drama of the struggle — the entertainment industry. I am not talking about Hollywood, more like PBS. Imagine being able to follow the Wright Brothers around for a year while they were developing the machine which eventually flew. No one had that chance. There might be some producers who would see documenting the work at LPP as an opportunity to be in front of the wave as it is breaking, to document history as it is happening. It would be a question of whispering into the right ear.

[Rezwan]

Great idea, TC. Now to find the ears to whisper in. Also, it could help if we approach them with a compelling framework. We don’t want this to be another “will he win the nobel?” frame per sonofusion vid.

If they target just one fusion guy, that makes it seem like one guy has to do it. If they put it in context of the larger struggle of fusion, and the public perceptions thereof, it could becomes a more interesting story.

[QuantumDot]

I agree with Rezwan, i think that it should involve a number of the smaller cheaper and more radical aneutronic fusion ideas.

like:
focus fusion
magnetic target fusion
ballistic colloidal fusion
pyroelectric crystal fusion
pops polywell fusion

an hour or two hour episode on each of these would be quite interesting since i think that i have heard that all of these have achieved fusion and that all of them think that they can do boron 11 fusion and that they would call be working in 5 years or less.

[Rezwan]

Yes, that would bring the aneutronic fusion/advanced fuels idea to the fore.

The coup would be to get Morgan Freeman to agree to do the narration.

[tcg]

Morgan Freeman was my son’s recommendation too. One can dream.

Bringing in the othe fusion projects would be necessary, but I think that a documentary should include the two high budget projects on an equal basis with the others. It should be a counterpoint to the Scientific American article, “Fusion’s False Promise”, but more optimistic and inclusive. Emphasis could be on three points of comparison: 1) what is it costing, 2) when might it achieve results (power generation), and 3) what is progress so far. The Tokamak and NIF projects look pretty shabby by comparison to the LPP effort, but the comparisons have not been made so far.

OMG. I just had an alegory barge into my head — Cinderella. Guess who would be the ugly stepsisters and who would be the one to get the shoe to fit. Sorry, back to the serious part.

Something about “Fusion’s Promise” would seem possible, even if LPP would have to share the light with all the other contenders. A useful goal would be to incite the suspicion that the “Ugly Stepsister” projects may be hogging way too much of the funding for the results they are producing.

Any more ideas?

[DerekShannon]

I will be reaching out to ultimate science hunk (and Hayden Planetarium director/Nova ScienceNow host) Neil deGrasse Tyson through my Planetary Society contacts while still in LA, FYI! ;-D

[emmetb]

Why wait for others? Just start your own reality show: “LPP Fusion” 🙂 Just show, as vividly as possible, how the LPP crew is trying to save the world. Don’t be afraid to show also the trivial part. In fact these shows are made up of trivial stuff anyhow. People drilling holes, connecting cables, staring at scopes, that’s the stuff we wanna be seeing! That’s how people understand something *real* is happening. Then in 30 sec. mini interviews with the scientists you can spoon feed to your audience some of the real info you want conveyed.

[Aeronaut]

Google this: contact any celebrity . Maybe I should become an affiliate. I’ll third the vote for Morgan Freeman, especially after seeing Bruce Almighty again last night.

[tcg]

There is something to Emmetb’s suggestion. The animation on the FFS site of the DPF firing is worth more than a thousand words of description, and a self produced video hilighting goals and progress of the project could have real value. It certainly could be produced to put the effort into the best light. It wouldn’t replace the hour long PBS special which we have been discussing and which would present all the fusion projects on an equal basis. However, it could lead to a DVD which could be handed out widely, raising a few eyebrows and possibly making the PBS special easier to accomplish.

I happen to know a qualified cinematographer. With a suitable carrot. . .

[Brian H]

Trying to do a live “reality show” type production would, I’d expect, severely interfere with actual lab operations. Commercial ‘reality shows’ are scripted and staged and have a lower-than-a-snake’s-belly rep for accuracy.

[Tulse]

What would the goal of such show be? It seems to me that what the LPP folks really need is time to get their research done, and some money to fund it. Once they get a indisputable demonstration of reproducible over-unity generation of electricity, these kind of stunts won’t be necessary.

[Brian H]

Tulse wrote: What would the goal of such show be? It seems to me that what the LPP folks really need is time to get their research done, and some money to fund it. Once they get a indisputable demonstration of reproducible over-unity generation of electricity, these kind of stunts won’t be necessary.

Hear, hear!
Great thinds mink alike. Or words to that effect. 😉

[Rezwan]

Tulse wrote: What would the goal of such show be?

There are several goals, and some goals vary depending on the outcome.

* In the immediate term, it’s a way to get awareness of this experiment and ideally more funds flowing to make sure there are enough resources to complete the experiment.
* It is also designed to raise awareness of fusion alternatives, and to differentiate DT fusion from aneutronic.
* By also showing other fusion experiments, it puts the struggles of this experiment in context, builds credibility and a movement of support & interest behind fusion alternatives in general.
* It may be capturing an epic moment in history as mankind achieves fusion. We should all be witnesses to that.
* If the outcome of the experiments are not as stellar as we had hoped, the process must not hinder fusion in general. It can’t turn into another “oversold” story. It must, rather, be the inspiration of the committed quest for the fusion solution.
* No matter what, we must gain something out of this effort.

That is what this documentary has the responsibility to convey.

It’s great to shoot a story when you don’t know the outcome. As they shot the movie “Fever Pitch” about a woman in love with a Red Sox fan – the team suddenly won the series. After years of losing. So they had to change the script in the middle.

It seems to me that what the LPP folks really need is time to get their research done, and some money to fund it.

Indeed they do.

Once they get a indisputable demonstration of reproducible over-unity generation of electricity, these kind of stunts won’t be necessary.

Indeed. “Once.” “Indisputable.” ’til then what do we do? Sit back and wait for them to do that? I’d like to be more proactive and anticipate an array of possible outcomes. It could be an “October surprise.” It could also take longer (“once” stretching out over time) and be heavily disputed. And it might not clear the full hurdle. I’m committed to fusion. And this is the most elegant first shot over the bow. I’d prefer not to take more shots than this. But as the zombies approach, you have to set up that first shot so that if it misses, or if you need to reload – you’re prepared.

It’s the girl scout motto.

[Rezwan]

Aeronaut wrote: Google this: contact any celebrity . Maybe I should become an affiliate. I’ll third the vote for Morgan Freeman, especially after seeing Bruce Almighty again last night.

No worries. I have an imdbpro membership. Agent and publicist addresses are right there. I’m told it’s best to go through the publicist. The Agent is interested in making money for the celeb. The publicist in attaching that celeb to good causes and otherwise raising their profile.

[Author]

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