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This book discusses the fun side of the quest to develop fusion energy—a modern equivalent of the hunt for the Holy Grail. After more than 70 years of research, despite great pr… Read more
LIMITED OFFER
Immediately download your ebook while waiting for your print delivery. No promo code needed.
This book discusses the fun side of the quest to develop fusion energy—a modern equivalent of the hunt for the Holy Grail. After more than 70 years of research, despite great progress, the goal has not been realized. Do you have to be crazy to love quests like this? Not really, but you do have to have an unshakeable optimism. Through humorous anecdotes, and accessible yet detailed scientific discussion, this book illuminates the enjoyment of scientific research through an account of fifty years working on fusion energy development. The anecdotes bring out the human side of research, in which innovative and sometimes egocentric scientists create both clever and nutty experiments. Among the many stories within are witchcraft at Harwell, shocking experiences, entertaining talks, and the wit of top scientists such as Marshall Rosenbluth. Above all the book highlights the significant advances made in developing practical fusion energy and the promise for an exciting future with the National Ignition Facility and International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. This book will be of interest to physicists as well as other students and researchers in the scientific and wider communities.
Students, researchers, and professionals in physics, as well as those interested in the fun in science.
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Fusion Dream
Big Bang
A Cutting Review
Genesis of Fusion Research
Magnetic Fusion
Inertial Fusion
2. Harwell Heydays
Arcs and Sparks
3. Stick with Spiders—Tarantula
Tarantula
Static Electricity
Dress Code
4. Ph.D. Experiment and Security
My Ph.D. Experiment and Other Plasmas
The Patrol Force
5. Culture Shock
Unexpected Diversions
The Oblique Shock-Wave Experiment
Two States Separated by a Common Language
6. Talks Can Surprise Us
Cakes and Ale
7. Culham Again
Neutral Beams and CLEO
A Weird Occurrence
8. JET: Larger and Larger
JET Travels
Entertainment in Dubna
9. JET Design: Do It Again, and Again, and … ?
Entertaining Times on JET
Shocking Experiences
Visiting the Former Soviet Union
10. 1977: Back in the U.S.A.
Security—A Serious Matter
The Elmo Bumpy Torus
The Early 1980s
Listening to the Father of the Hydrogen Bomb
Epilogue
11. Conferences in Erice
12. The Winding Stellarator Road
Stellarators and Koji Uo
The Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF)
13. Fusion’s Prospects
The Dinosaur Chart
The Art of Stating Goals—JET and TFTR
What’s in a Q?
The Shiva Winner Altruistic Trust
14. Fear and Flying
Fear
What’s in a Name?
Flying to D.C.
Interesting Sides of Al Gore
Interrupted Talks
15. The Oscillating Fusion Program
International Fusion
16. What About Fusion Energy?
Sir Walter Raleigh Selling Fusion Energy
17. Fusion and the Universe
Forces in the Universe
Fusion Power Plants
Fusion Energy and the Plasma State
Background to MFE
Background to IFE
Main Challenges for Fusion Energy Research
Confining the Plasma Energy
Heating and Fueling the Plasma
Handling the Fusion Power
Challenges for a Fusion Power Plant
Reflections on 50 Years in Fusion Research
Acronyms
Glossary
JS
He served on the US-DOE’s Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee for over a decade, chairing it from 1996 to 2000. From 1988 to 1994, he was director of Fusion Energy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. From 1995 to 2003, he was director for Energy Technology Programs at ORNL, and from 1997 also director of the Joint Institute for Energy and Environment at the University of Tennessee. There he remains as a Senior Fellow in what is now called the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment.