Journal of Alternative Energy Research
Volume 11, Issue 3
May 25, 2010
Inside this issue:
BREAKING NEWS
General Overview of 2
the Fusion Process
HERE COMES THE SUN:
A Greener Future? 2 NUCLEAR FUSION ON EARTH
Exactly one year ago in the
average suburban town of Na-
Scientist of the 2 perville, Illinois a small group of
Week high school students from Na-
perville North High School
stumbled upon brilliance—the
key to unlocking the nuclear
fusion process here on Earth.
But one might ask, how exactly
was a small group of bright
science geeks from an average
high school in Illinois able to
solve the mystery that scien-
tists around the world have
been struggling with for dec-
ades? The answer is simple—
creativity and luck.
Although the details of the
breakthrough are still being
debated and discussed around
the world, one thing is certain—
and that is the fact that the
world as we know it has now
fundamentally changed. With
nuclear fusion now a perfectly
viable option to power human-
ity, there is no limit to what we
can achieve.
Unlike previous forms of energy to stop immediately.
such as the combustion of oil
and natural gas or the count- Over the past year the students
who worked together to
less alternative energy sources
that we have explored through- achieve the breakthrough in
out previous volumes of this fusion research have been
experiencing quite the whirl-
journal, nuclear fusion as close
as possible to what many con- wind of activities—everything
sider the “perfect energy from global press conferences
to small discussions with nobel
source”. Fusion fuels, which
essentially include Deuterium -prize winning scientists; and
and Tritium, are abundantly this whirlwind of activity will
surely not stop any time soon,
available and inher-
ently safe. And just because the future of fusion
a few grams of Deu- research is the hands of the
young scientists like the ones
terium and Tritium
are present in from Naperville North High
plasma at one time. School. And now that the key to
controlling fusion here on Earth
And the reaction
that occurs in a has been discovered, science
Fusion reactor is 4 enthusiasts around the world
can finally yell out what they’ve
million times more
energetic than a been craving for many dec-
chemical reaction ades—
such as combus-
tion. And many alternative en-
ergy proponents will let out FUSION IS THE FUTURE!
sighs of relief as fusion is intro-
duced into society because the
process emits no pollution or
greenhouse gases. The prod-
uct, Helium, is inert and non-
toxic. And unlike the ever-
controversial nuclear fission
reactors, fusion reactors pose
no threat of our-of-control reac-
tions because the conditions
within the reactors are very
precise; in fact, alteration of
almost any kid causes the
plasma to cool and the reaction
 Journal of Alternative Energy Research Page 2

Scientist A Brief Overview of Nuclear Fusion

of the Since the beginning of nuclear
fusion research, this alternative
are able to understand the
theory behind nuclear fusion.
of the reaction and yet keeping
the electrically-charged plasma

Week: energy source has been consid-

ered by many as the ultimate
source of energy—powerful,
clean, and efficient. And al-
though nuclear fusion occurs
endlessly on the Sun, until to-
day, humans have been unable
to recreate the ideal pressure
and temperature conditions
required for the fusion of to
colliding atoms.
Essentially, the equation repre-
sents the energy given off when
in its place. Shown below is a
functioning plasma contain-
a single atom is formed by the ment vessel. The pink region
fusion of two different atoms. represents the area where the
And mass comes into play plasma is held.
when one realizes that the ac-
tual “measured” mass of an
atom is less than its theoretical
calculated mass—and thus the
mass lost is transformed into
energy.

The energy derived from the However, this type of collision

fusion of two atoms stems from
Sir Mark Oliphant, Albert Einstein’s iconic equa-
1901-2000 tion: E=mc^2. Although many
are able to recite the equation
Sir Mark Oliphant was when prompted, only those who
an Australian physicist
who played an essen-
tial role in the devel-
opment of the nuclear
fusion processes that
we have in place to-
day. A student of
Ernest Rutherford—
made famous for his
gold foil experi- understand what Einstein’s
ments— Sir Mark was famous equation truly conveys
instrumental in the
research that led up to
the splitting of the first
atom in 1932. Sir
Mark was the first to
A Greener Future?
experimentally demon-
strate nuclear fusion Many of the alternative energy
and was essential in sources that we explore each
the development of the week in the Journal of Alterna-
atomic bomb. tive Energy Research focus on
the need to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and been more
“green” in general. However,
many of these new and upcom-
ing forms of energy are not
entirely green—in fact, many
are far from it. Many propo-
nents of Biofuels, for example,
claim to be carbon-neutral (or
some even claim to be carbon-
negative), but in reality very few
Biofuels have zero carbon
emissions due to the various
only occurs at extreme densi-
ties and temperatures—
15,000,000 C to be more ex-
act. At these extremely high
temperatures, electrons—
negatively-charged particles—
are stripped from nuclei and a
gas becomes a plasma—an
electrically charged gas; and
this plasma is the ideal fusion
environment.
This plasma is contained using
strong magnetic fields, allowing
for the electrically-neutral neu-
trons to carry away the energy
fermen-
tation processes that must
occur for raw materials such as
corn or sugar cane to be trans-
formed into viable fuel options.
However, nuclear fusion is by
far the cleanest alternative
energy source that we have
come across thus far. The fu-
sion reaction itself emits no
greenhouse gases whatsoever.
And the fuels that go into main-
taining a fusion reaction—
deuterium, tritium, and lithium
are the main ones—are readily
available and easily mined.
Deuterium, for example can be
And with fusion reactors simi-
lar to the one shown above
being installed throughout the
world, we will no doubt soon
begin to reap the benefits of
this once-unattainable source
of energy.
distilled from all forms of water.
It is a widely available, virtually
inexhaustible, and harmless
resource. For example, in every
liter of seawater there are 33
milligrams of Deuterium. Lith-
ium is also plentiful in the
Earth’s crust; in fact, known
reserves of Lithium would last
for at least one thousand years
if fusion were to provide elec-
tricity to the entire world.
With nuclear fusion now an
option, everyone should be
looking forward to greener,
healthier future!
 Volume 11, Issue 3
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