Helius wrote:Can anyone explain why the word isn't out?
The word isn't out because in the eyes of the world, stories like the BFR are old news. Consider the history of controlled fusion (from
Sun in a Bottle by Seife):
Mar 1951: Huemel Island, Argentina. Juan Peron announces that Ronald Richter has achieved successful fusion of deuterium and lithium. No supporting data is ever published. In Apr, New York Times reports French physicist supports Richter's claim. Sep 1952: Visiting team of scientists finds NO radiation present; and when real radioactive source is used, Richter’s detectors do not work.
Big PR Disaster: Juan Peron admits to farce.
July 1951: Princeton, US. Lyman Spitzer gets $200,000 AEC grant for Stellarator. Estimates it will have 150 Megawatts output but does not even come close. Gets $5 million more in 1955; $10 million more in 1957. Says, “$200 million will buy 1000 megawatts.” However, by late 1950s he is saying that $24 million Model “C” is for “research only” and break-even is “decades away.”
Early 1952 Los Alamos, US. James Tuck builds “Perhapsatron” Pinch machine and promises it will produce net fusion energy like an internal combustion engine. By 1955 a strong pinch was producing neutron bursts, but they were found to be asymmetrical, and were found to be
instability neutrons, NOT fusion neutrons. Aug 1957 Harwell, UK. ZETA, a $1 million Pinch machine is reported to be making fusion neutrons. It is heralded by the UK press as energy salvation for the planet. But later found to be producing instability neutrons (again), not fusion neutrons.
Big PR Disaster
Mid 1960s Russia. Artsimovich & Sakarov. Tokamak (a combination of Stellarator and Pinch) invented. 1969 Brits visit and check temp – 10s of millions of degrees – hot enough for fusion. Saga of ever larger Tokamaks has continued to the present day (ITER), with break-even always promised for the next bigger model – many 10s of billions of dollars spent
1974 Livermore, US. First laser fusion attempted with 2-beam Janus. Also, in May 1974 Keeve M Siegal's private company reports neutron production from laser fusion. Much fanfare, congressional hearings, etc. Breakeven always expected with next larger model. But $25 million Shiva nowhere near breakeven; $200 million Nova nowhere near breakeven. Rayleigh-Taylor instability ongoing problem. Hohlraum does not solve problem. Problems continue to present day (NIF), with break-even always promised for the next bigger model – many 10s of billions of dollars spent
May 23, 1989 University of Utah, US. Pons and Fleishman announce successful cold fusion with much fanfare. University president Chase Peterson says discovery “up there with fire, agriculture, and electricity.” Press hypes that world’s energy problems are solved. Steven Jones, BYU, (muon catalyzed fusion “cold fusion economically viable”) lends credibility to claims. Pons and Fleishman do not ever check for null result by using regular hydrogen instead of deuterium. Their claimed Neutrons were found to be at wrong energy, so Pons and Fleishman tweaked the results to “correct” the problem. Neutrons could not be detected at all by Harwell’s better neutron detector.
Big PR Disaster. Pons and Fleishman leave in disgrace for France.
Feb 2002, Oak Ridge National Labs. US. Rusi Taleyarkan announces neutron production by Acoustic Cavitation Fusion in peer-reviewed journal,
Science. Shapira and Saltmarsh (also or ORNL) could NOT detect neutrons. Only example offered for “independent” verification by Purdue University proved to have in fact been done by Rusi Taleyarkan.
Big PR Disaster. July 2008 Taleyarkan disciplined by Perdue, becomes an outcast.
It's a wonder that Alan Boyle pays us any attention at all; and its a wonder that the Navy is willing to provide any funding at all. I can see why Dr. Nebel wants to keep things very low key.
Bill Flint
They're solid gold aren't they? How much did those hohlraums weigh? Was it material cost, or exacting fabrication that drove the price so high?