304 - The Past, Present and Future of Fusion Energy

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Guest: Jason Parisi, Justin Ball Host: Markus Voelter Shownoter: Stefaan Rillaert

Justin and Jason wrote a nice book on fusion called The Future of Fusion Energy, and this episode is based on this book. We start out by revisiting the breakthroughs that drove progress in fusion over the decades, including understanding stars, the tokamak, superconducting magnets, supercomputers and a number of specific aspects of plasma physics. We then look at the current state of fusion research as well as where it might go.

Introduction

00:02:43

Justin Ball | Swiss Plasma Center | Jason Parisi | Nuclear fusion | Joint European Torus | Book "The Future of Fusion Energy" | Jason Parisis' article "From fission to fusion: the need for a quick transition"

Past

00:06:38

History of the Cavendish Laboratory | Francis Aston | Arthur Eddington | Ronald Richter | Lyman Spitzer | Stellarator | James Tuck | Perhapsatron | Tokamak | Ohmic heating | Superconductivity | Episode about superconductivity | Bootstrap current | H-mode | Episode on ASDEX | Plasma shaping | Deuterium-tritium fuel | TFTR (Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor) | Supercomputer

Present

00:56:31

ITER website | ITER | Burning plasma | Fusion ignition | Tritium | Tritium Breeding | JT-60 | MAST Upgrade | Wendelstein 7-X | National Ignition Facility | Inertial confinement fusion | Lockheed Martin Skunk Works' Fusion Reactor | Cold fusion | Commonwealth Fusion Systems | Tokamak Energy

Future

01:33:19

Superconducting magnet | Magnetic confinement fusion | Materials science | Nuclear proliferation | Distributed generation | Grid base load | Pumped-storage hydroelectricity | DEMOnstration Power Station | China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR)