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​Without the moon, we probably wouldn't exist.  In that sense, the moon's value is infinite -- but what if you wanted to put a dollar amount on that rock? Most scientists think the rock is made up of elements like iron and magnesium, but the most valuable part of its structure may be Helium-3. Hard to find on Earth, the isotope can power nuclear fusion reactors, a potentially mammoth .

 

Read the full article .

 

 

 

Dhiraj Bora, present Director of the Institute for Plasma Research, Gujarat and former ������app Deputy-Director General, explains what a fusion reaction is, what conditions it requires, and what hurdles scientists face in achieving it.

Read ​Prof. Dhiraj Bora's interview .

 

​When a science-mad artificial intelligence system (voiced by GLaDOS actress Ellen McLain) is installed at NASA, two hapless computer technicians learn the process behind nuclear fusion in the Sun, and how it differs from fission.

Watch the video .

​New research has provided a comprehensive overview of new small-scale nuclear reactors, which could be suitable candidates to cope with the world's ever-growing demand for energy. According to official estimates, world energy consumption in 2035 will be more than double that of 1995. A substantial challenge for engineers and scientists over the coming decades is to develop and deploy power plants with sufficient capacity and flexibility to meet this increasing need while simultaneously reducing emissions. The new article aims to show to what extent a new type of nuclear reactor, termed the 'Small Modular Reactor' (SMR), might provide a solution to fulfil these energy needs.

  Read full article on website.

 

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While the popularity of nuclear power worldwide took a major hit in the aftermath of the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Disaster in 2011, it remains one of the cheapest, most efficient, and carbon-friendly forms of energy generation that we currently have.   Energy superpowers like the United States, Russia, and Canada have made nuclear power lucrative, not just through cheap energy, but through licensing their technology to developing countries looking for a new energy source. For that reason, nuclear power has remained a viable and important form of energy, one which will be integral to the world over the next fifty years.   We took a look at to determine which countries are the biggest nuclear energy powers. We rated each country based on the total amount of electricity produced by nuclear power.   Read the full article on website.

 

​President Barack Obama this morning released including proposals for a host of federal research agencies.

(...)

Once again there are winners and losers in the proposed budget for 2015 the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science, the single largest funder of the physical sciences in the United States. Overall, the Office of Science budget would creep up by just 0.9% from its current level to $5.111 billion. But whereas some research programs, such as advance computing, would see double-digit increases, others, such as fusion, would take deep cuts. (...)

In contrast, the fusion program would take a 17.6% cut to $416 million—$88 million less than it's getting this year. Although far from final, the numbers suggest another big dip for a program that has enjoyed a roller coaster ride in recent years. In its proposed 2013 budget, research to help pay for the increasing U.S. contribution to the international fusion experiment, ������app, in Cadarache, France. That budget also called for closing one of three smaller fusion experiments, or tokamaks, in the United States, the Alcator C-Mod at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. But that budget never passed and last December, when Congress finally agreed to a budget for this year, it of nearly $200 million. The new budget request would give some of that increase back and suggests DOE officials see bigger priorities elsewhere.

Read full article on website.

​Will particle physicists ever have a new toy that will take them to energies beyond those accessible through the Large Hadron Collider? History suggests it's unlikely. To save costs, the LHC was built in an existing tunnel that had hosted an earlier, less powerful accelerator. The US cancelled the construction of hardware that would have outperformed the LHC (the Superconducting Super Collider, or SSC) due to cost overruns, and it shut down its Tevatron once the LHC started up. Now, decisions on the linear collider that will be used to study the Higgs in detail are being made based on which country is likely to come up with the most money.

But physicists are apparently an optimistic bunch. Earlier this year, CERN announced that it was beginning to evaluate an LHC replacement that would require a tunnel so large—100km in circumference—that it would have to pass under Lake Geneva itself. Potentially in response, a team of US-based physicists have come up with an even more audacious plan: don't build the linear collider, resurrect the SSC's now abandoned tunnels, and use them to both host a Higgs factory and as a booster for a truly massive, 270km collider.

 

Read the full article on website.

 

In Cadarache, France, the CEA-Euratom tokamak Tore Supra is undergoing a major transformation to be used as a test bench for ������app. This is the WEST project (W - for tungsten - Environment in Steady-state Tokamak).

The of the WEST newsletter is now available online.

​Registration is open now for the Superconductivity for Energy 2014 conference that will be held in Paestum, Italy on 15-19 May 2014.

Conference topics include high power superconductor applications (materials, cables, magnets); frontiers in high field magnet technology; superconductors for energy; power devices; high current superconductivity; and superconducting properties and functionalities for new applications.

The event is organized in the framework of the PON Project "NAFASSY" (NAtional FAcility for Superconducting SYstems) by the Physics Department of the University of Salerno in collaboration with the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), the National Research Council (CNR), and the Center for New Technologies (CRdC).

All information can be found on the conference .

The February 2014 issue of the US ������app News Update is now available online. The newsletter highlights the recent progress in the ������app systems under US responsibility (pellet injection system,tokamak cooling water system, central solenoid magnet, etc.) and relates the very solid budget situation for fiscal year 2014.

You can read the latest news from US ������app .

​On a warm sunny afternoon last week, ������app welcomed its very own telecommunication pylon which proudly stands 35 metres high beside the Visitors Centre. It's been equipped with 2G and 3G technologies with scope for 4G technology in the near future. SFR antennas at the top of this pylon cover the whole ������app site. Negotiations to bring in another carrier will take place at the end of this year and if everything falls into place, Orange soon will be seen sharing this telecommunication pylon along with SFR.

 

​Back by popular demand! The Fusion Academy is offering two 3-day sessions of its professional crash course in nuclear fusion in the Netherlands in 2014. Registration is now open for the 15-17 April session (deadline 23 March) and 29-31 October session (deadline 7 October).

The Fusion Academy course is open to professionals from the field of fusion research and development (engineers, managers, science journalists ...). Further information can be found at .

The 28th Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT) will take place from 29 September to 3 October in San Sebastian, Spain, organized by CIEMAT, the Spanish Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology.

Considered the top event for the exchange of information on the design, construction and operation of fusion experiments and on the technology for present fusion machines and future power plants, over 800 scientists and engineers working in the field are expected.

The deadline for abstract submission is 18 March. Registration is currently open for industrial exhibitors.

​T��� latest news from the European Domestic Agency for ������app has been published in the February issue of F4E News, which can be consulted . 

​Ravi B. Grover, head of the Indian delegation to the ������app Council, was honoured by the Government of India on the occasion of Republic Day (26 January 2014) with the fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri. 

Dr Grover is the principal adviser of the Department of Atomic Energy in India, a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, and director of the Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI).

He played a pivotal role during negotiations with various governments and the IAEA towards opening international civil nuclear trade between India and other countries. He also played a key role in the negotiations leading up to India joining the ������app Project as a full partner in 2005. He conceptualized and set up the HBNI as a university-level institution.

The ������app community congratulates Dr Grover on his distinguished award.

 

​What is matter? What is energy? What holds matter together? How do the various constituents of the universe interact at the most basic level? Where does the Earth sit in relation to the rest of the universe? Can we predict the movements of the stars?

Physics gives us the knowledge to address remarkable questions like these. But knowledge is also power: a better understanding of these laws, allows us to improve the ways we interact with, and harness our environment. And if you look at the rapid development in human technology over the past two centuries, it is amazing just how much technological change has been derived from advances in physics.

Perhaps the most clear-cut example in this respect is the dramatic transformation that electricity has brought about in all modern societies. Our whole way of living now is completely dependent upon being able to generate, transmit, and harness electric power in a safe and efficient manner — all of which is ultimately underpinned by our understanding of physics.

Keeping up with the ever growing demand for generating electricity with minimal environmental impact will be a significant challenge in the years to come.

Read the full article by the Australian political journalist at . 

​Two new videos produced by the Russian Domestic Agency for ������app highlight the contributions of the Kurchatov Institute (Moscow) and the Ioffe Institute (St Petersburg) to the Project.

Both Institutes are responsible for supplying high performance diagnostic systems to the ������app machine. Follow the work-in-progress at the following links:

​T��� EAST Tokamak team at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), has won the 2013 National Science and Technology Progress Award for its years of unremitting innovation and teamwork. This comes after winning a prize in 2008 for the successful construction and commissioning of EAST.  

 

This top annual Chinese award recognizes advancements in the natural sciences, technological innovation and science and technology. Jiangang Li, ASIPP director, accepted the award on behalf of the EAST team in a ceremony on 10 January.

 

 

The EAST Tokamak team is one of the three recipients of the Innovation Team prize among the 188 laureates of the 2013 Science and Technology Progress Award.

 

 

 

​T��� European Commission has launched a prize to reward excellence in innovation in the fusion research program as well as the quality of the researchers and industries involved.

Participants are free to submit an application for any physics or technological innovation developed within the European Fusion research program that has demonstrated market potential.

An independent jury appointed by the European Commission will evaluate the proposals and rank the first, second and third place winners who will receive EUR 15,000, 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. Winners will be announced at the SOFT conference in September 2014.

For more detailed information on general conditions and eligibility, click .

​T��� investment into hi-tech research laboratories and businesses in Oxfordshire, announced this week, was particularly good news for Culham Centre of Fusion Energy, operated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. A major element of this initiative sees the UK government investing £7.8 million (with matching funds from industry) into a remote applications facility, to be based at a brand new building at Culham.

The facility is part of a broader programme of activities in automated and remote handling and is planned to be built in 2015 and operating in 2016. It will enable CCFE and partner organisations (National Nuclear Laboratory, The Welding Institute Technology Centre, National Physical Laboratory and Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) to offer their expertise in remote interventions and autonomous systems to a wider commercial sector.

[...]

With the addition of expertise from the project partners, including remote and autonomous working in challenging environments and remote welding techniques, the new centre will offer industry access to an unparalleled concentration of test facilities and expertise to develop and apply technology of remote applications. [...] Fusion research will benefit from the centre as well. Building on CCFE's considerable expertise in remote handling, the centre will enable ever more complex remote handling techniques to be perfected — essential for the efficient and reliable performance of maintenance tasks in the harsh environment inside ������app. And the centre will support CCFE's intention to host one of the design centres for DEMO — the demonstration fusion power reactor expected to follow ������app. 

Read the full article .