Dr. Robert Bussard is a PhD from Princeton and former Asst. Director of the Atomic Energy Commission.
The video on inertial electrostatic confinement fusion (IEC) is 1.5 hours long. It was delivered by Dr. Robert Bussard last November 9, 2006.
Here's the abstract of the talk, from Google Video:
"This is not your father's fusion reactor! Forget everything you know about conventional thinking on nuclear fusion: high-temperature plasmas, steam turbines, neutron radiation and even nuclear waste are a thing of the past. Goodbye thermonuclear fusion; hello inertial electrostatic confinement fusion (IEC), an old idea that's been made new. While the international community debates the fate of the politically-turmoiled $12 billion ITER (an experimental thermonuclear reactor), simple IEC reactors are being built as high-school science fair projects.
"Dr. Robert Bussard, former Asst. Director of the Atomic Energy Commission and founder of Energy Matter Conversion Corporation (EMC2), has spent 17 years perfecting IEC, a fusion process that converts hydrogen and boron directly into electricity producing helium as the only waste product. Most of this work was funded by the Department of Defense, the details of which have been under seal... until now.
"Dr. Bussard will discuss his recent results and details of this potentially world-altering technology, whose conception dates back as far as 1924, and even includes a reactor design by Philo T. Farnsworth (inventor of the scanning television).
"Can a 100 MW fusion reactor be built for less than Google's annual electricity bill? Come see what's possible when you think outside the thermonuclear box and ignore the herd."
A summary of the talk can be seen from Karl Schroeder's website. An excerpt:
"They're that small and lightweight. But most importantly, his primary design does not even produce nuclear radiation. A nuclear fusion reactor that doesn't produce nuclear radiation? Yes, you read that rightly. By fusion boron instead of hydrogen, an IEC device can produce pure electricity plus an exhaust of helium atoms--neutron free. Boron is literally as common as mud, so we'll never run out of it. And a fusion reactor that produces no radiation cannot be used to create nuclear weapons."
Dr. Bussard passed away last October 2007. The community that has developed is supposed to ensure that Bussard's work will continue to be pursued: EMC2 Fusion, IEC Fusion, etc.
Technorati Tags: Bussard, focus fusion, Google Tech Talks, IEC, inertial electrostatic confinement, nuclear energy, Robert Bussard



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