Laser Fusion: Is it Hype? Professor Charles Seife (#283)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE’s National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA) recently announced the achievement
of fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
— a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making that will
pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of
clean power. On Dec. 5, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility
(NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history
to reach this milestone, also known as scientific energy breakeven,
meaning it produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy
used to drive it. This first-of-its-kind feat will provide
unprecedented capability to support NNSA’s Stockpile Stewardship
Program and will provide invaluable insights into the prospects of
clean fusion energy, which would be a game-changer for efforts to
achieve President Biden’s goal of a net-zero carbon economy. “This
is a landmark achievement for the researchers and staff at the
National Ignition Facility who have dedicated their careers to
seeing fusion ignition become a reality, and this milestone will
undoubtedly spark even more discovery,” said U.S. Secretary of
Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. https://lasers.llnl.gov/ Charles
Seife, a professor of journalism at NYU's Arthur L. Carter
Journalism Institute, has been writing about physics and
mathematics for two decades. He is a critic of the hype surrounding
fusion. He is the author of nine books books, SUN IN A BOTTLE AND
including Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea (2000), which won
the 2000 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction; Proofiness:
The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception (2010); and a forthcoming
biography of physicist Stephen Hawking (2021). Before arriving at
NYU, Seife was a writer for Science magazine and had been a U.S.
correspondent for New Scientist. His writing has also appeared in
The Economist, Scientific American, ProPublica, The Philadelphia
Inquirer, Discover, Slate, Smithsonian, The Washington Post, The
New York Times, and numerous other publications. He has also been a
scientific consultant and writer for television documentaries about
science and mathematics. Seife holds an A.B. in mathematics from
Princeton University, an M.S. in mathematics from Yale University,
and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University
https://www.charlesseife.org/ Connect with Professor Keating:
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