Application Form for Extended Project Qualification

Form MUST be typed, and emailed to Mrs Collier in response to the

email originally sent with this – dated 30th November.

ABOUT ME

Name Jax Handley Form: 12Y2

What A-levels are you currently studying?

Physics, Chemistry and Maths

What are your university/career aspirations?

I want to study natural sciences at Cambridge or Durham University. If this doesn’t work out I
would like to study physics at either Bristol or Cardiff

List your extra-curricular commitments for Y12 (e.g. teams, volunteering, music, trips, job, etc)
Chemistry olympiad, Stemsmart Programme (Isaac Physics and Cambridge University), Part time
job at Greggs, Care home volunteering and I also play the guitar, piano and am learning the saxo-
phone.

OUTLINE PROPOSAL (Please note that you will have to fill this out more fully in the production
log at a later date)

Provisional project title:

Nuclear Fusion:A viable solution to the World’s energy crisis or a possible cause of WW3

Reasons for choosing this title:

Due to the recent energy and cost of living crisis I knew I wanted my EPQ topic to be revenant to this as I
think it is important to be developing and discussing future solutions to the crisis. I am also very passionate
about climate change. It is so easy to become overwhelmed in the possibility we might never have any solu-
tions to climate change and the world might eventually disintegrate because of it. I think it’s very important
to be discussing solutions to this issue as well as at the moment, not a lot is being done to help solve the cri-
sis. In my opinion this is down to government policies and I plan on discussing this in the EPQ as I also this
it will impact the future of nuclear fusion reactors.
Along with this, in recent news, scientists in America were able to create a nuclear fusion reaction that more
energy came out than in. For so long scientist have been debating on whether or not nuclear fusion reactors
are even possible that now we can see that they are it is vital that we discuss the possible implications that
nuclear fusion will have on the world. It will create nearly unlimited energy which will affect all countries
politically, socially, economically and environmentally. I plan on discussing how the possibility of nuclear
fusion will impact all income countries and how it very well might cause conflicts and wars due to lack of
resources, lack of the use of fossil fuels, changing world leaders and much more.
Its also important to discuss wether or not fusion rectors will even benefit the world considering how many
resources it will take and how long it will take to produce useful ones. This could mean that the disadvan-
tages of possible conflict and economic crashes may be too vast for a fusion reactor to be useful.
In conclusion, I am very interested in politics and I wasn’t able to take it for a level, and I also plan on
studying physics in my future. I think this EPQ topic will take into account both of these interests and help
me succeed at studying physics for university. I also this there is a lot to discuss about this topic as it is a
fairly new conundrum and is vital to the future of energy.

What are the sub-questions / How and when will you achieve each What problems might you
tasks necessary to achieve of these? have to overcome to achieve
your aims? each of these?

How will I make sure to be Use multiple reliable sources These may be hard to find
detailed and accurate when or have underlying opinions
talking about fusion rectors to them that make them un-
reliable

Make sure my findings are
presented in a way that
makes sense and has a path
Constantly ask for advice and make a
detailed plan before I start writing
my essay
Presentations that make
sense to be may not make
sense to others. There will
also be a lot of data and
opinions that will need to
be talked about so it may be
difficult to present it all.

WHAT HAVE YOU ALREADY READ? (Give full details of at least 5 different sources you have
read and a brief idea of how useful they were)
Martinez, Julio, Remarks on Nuclear Fusion Energy: Advantages, and Disadvantages (May 12, 2022). Available
at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4109155 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4109155 - showed nuclear fission
in a positive light, went into the scientific of nuclear fusion in great detail but didn’t mention much on the poli-
tics side.
Limitless renewable energy would offer tantalising benefits: emissions-free heating, greener fertiliser and elec-
tric transport. But overcoming the obstacles will not be easy: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221006-
what-would-happen-if-we-had-limitless-green-energy - wasn’t specific to nuclear energy but shed light onto
some of the environmental impact that renewable energy will have and also on how government policy gets in
the way of this.
Can the world economy survive without fossil fuels?: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/apr/08/can-
world-economy-survive-without-fossil-fuels - again not specific to nuclear fusion but went into detail about the
effect not using fossil fuels will have on the economy of poorer countries and how transitioning to other ways of
producing energy such as fission will have on the economy.
Fusion reactors: Not what they’re cracked up to be: https://thebulletin.org/2017/04/fusion-reactors-not-what-
theyre-cracked-up-to-be/ - Went in depth into the disadvantages of the certain fuel used for nuclear power plants
and how they wouldn’t produce unlimited energy, or the cost would be too large.
How Renewable Energy Could Set the Stage for Future Resource Conflict:
https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/how-renewable-energy-could-set-stage-future-resource-conflict - went into
great detail about the possible affects new energy sources will have on resources and how it could cause are in
the future. This article was written a while back so isn’t specific to nuclear fusion but could definitely be adapted
to be.

SUITABILITY (See Assessment Objectives)

Show how you have considered the AOs when choosing your project title:

A01 (20%) I have already began thinking of the layout and certain subtopics I would like to discuss. I
plan on having two large actions to the essay, one discussing the possibilities for nuclear
Planning fusion, how long it will take to achieve, scientific discoveries and challenged due to it and
the second section I will talk about the likelyhood it has to cause war taking into account
how possible it is using scientific data from the serious part. I will then have a conclusion
bringing it all together.

A02 (20%) There aren’t may up to date research papers or books on this topic but I plan on re-
searching around the topic into possible effects on renewable energy on war and
Researching other related topics and analysing which parts will be useful for my project and
utilising those. I also plan on in depth research of recent developments of nuclear
fusions.

A03 (40%) I plan on creating an essay to outline and argue my projected title. I plan on using
the research data I had previously collected and assessing and formatting it all in a
Creating clear and easy to understand way.
(the project:
essay /arte-
fact /report
A04 (20%) I plan on comparing my essay to other similar essays on nuclear fusion rectors and
assessing how my conclusion differs from theirs and assessing the different paths
Evaluating and opinions that led to the curtain conclusion

Please return the completed application form to: Camilla.collier@patesgs.org by December 20, 2019

I have checked that this proposed title does not overlap with any of my A levels Yes

I include evidence (screenshot) of having signed up to one of these 2 courses - please

do NOT pay for a certificate, these courses are otherwise free
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/research-project (8 x 1 hour)
How to do an EPQ - Online Course (futurelearn.com) (3 x 3 hours)