Nuclear fusion reactors are the holy grail of energy production. A promise of virtually waste-free, CO2-free production using relatively abundant sources. But fusing deuterium and tritium into helium requires enormous pressures and temperatures to start with. The mainstream approach is to use lasers to create the pressures and contain the superhot plasma with strong magnetic fields. A seven-country consortium behind the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, is planning to spend $17 billion over 30 years to prove fusion power plants are commercially viable. Construction on the massive project is expected to begin this year in France.
Fortunately there are underdogs that take a different approach. The Canadian newspaper the Star reports on a few mavericks who have revived an old idea: use sound waves to create the pressure. They believe that with modern day digital controls you can manage the speed and precision required to create a spherical pressure wave with over 180 actuators.
General Fusion’s approach can be found here
At least it does not violate laws of physics as we know them.
Anyway, my sympathy is for the guys who have the audacity to leave the beaten track and think of something new. Todays crackpot may become tomorrows genius….
