Meeting global
energy needs with
a clean, abundant
source is a Holy
Grail for science.
Brian Clegg reveals
the pioneering
projects that are
racing to realise
the dream
he Sun is our main energy
source, whether directly,
or via plants and the fossil
fuels they leave behind. Even
wind energy is derived from our
star, with gusts caused by the Sun
warming the air. Now work at
Cadarache in France and Livermore
in California is bringing us closer
than ever to harnessing nuclear
fusion, the mechanism of the Sun,
in our power stations. France’s
ITER (International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor), has
foundations in place, with building
due to start in June. It should be
the last in a series of experimental
reactors before a prototype generator
is built. Meanwhile in California, the
alternative technology of the NIF
(National Ignition Facility) got more
energy out of its fuel than was put in
for the first time last year. The race
for practical fusion generation is on,
but when are we likely to see results,
if at all?
Unlike the atom-splitting of a
conventional nuclear fission plant
(see Fission vs Fusion), a nuclear
fusion reactor forces the nuclei of
atoms to merge together, forming
a heavier substance, a process
that releases energy. Fusion was
first employed destructively in
the hydrogen bomb, but has a
great potential for peaceful energy
production. Unlike our current
nuclear power plants, a fusion
generator could never produce
a Chernobyl-style disaster,
does not produce dangerous
T