Writing for The Hill, Martin Greenwald, deputy director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, explores the potential of fusion power. Greenwald examines how recent advances in high-temperature superconductors and recent investments in fusion technology from the private sector could “alter the landscape and offer the possibility of a dramatic speed-up in the development of this new energy source.”
MIT researchers have published a series of new papers demonstrating that the design for the SPARC compact nuclear fusion reactor “is both technically feasible and could produce 10 times the energy it consumes,” reports Dino Grandoni for The Washington Post.
Popular Mechanics reporter Caroline Delbert writes that new research by MIT scientists provides evidence that the compact nuclear fusion design they are developing should be feasible. Delbert writes that the researchers may be able to get the SPARC reactor online within 10 years by “improving materials and shrinking costs.”
Scientific American reporter Daniel Garisto spotlights how a team of MIT researchers has uncovered hints of anomalous activity in heavy isotopes. “We’re not claiming to have discovered anything like a new particle,” says Prof. Vladan Vuletić. “Most likely, we are measuring new nuclear physics, but there is the possibility of something else going on.”
UPI reporter Brooks Hays writes that a series of papers by MIT researchers finds that the designs for the SPARC compact nuclear fusion experiment should be viable. “Engineers expect their SPARC reactor, or tokamak, to be much more powerful than previous experimental reactors,” writes Hays.
In a series of new papers, MIT researchers provide evidence that plans to develop a next-generation compact nuclear fusion reactor called SPARC should be viable, reports Henry Fountain for The New York Times. The research “confirms that the design we’re working on is very likely to work,” says Martin Greenwald, deputy director for MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
Popular Mechanics reporter Caroline Delbert writes that MIT researchers are looking to “make molten salt reactors a little more practical by fine-tuning how they behave under extreme heat and pressure.”
In an article for CNN, Jim Walsh, a research associate at the Center for International Studies, examines how the U.S. can avoid pushing Iran to build a nuclear bomb. “The President can begin to quietly ratchet down his maximum pressure campaign, for example, by issuing waivers on oil sanctions,” writes Walsh. “He can find third parties to communicate with the Iranians.”
Researchers from a number of institutions, including MIT, are exploring the feasibility of cold fusion, reports Steven Salzberg for Forbes. The researchers explained that while they were unable to successfully produce cold fusion, their exploration of this topic “is likely to have a substantial impact on future energy technologies.”
National Geographic reporter Michael Greshko writes about a new effort by researchers from a number of institutions, including MIT, to reassess the possibility of cold fusion. Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang explains that he hopes to be able to create a “‘reference experiment’ for other labs to also advance research into lower-energy nuclear physics.”
Prof. Dennis Whyte, director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, speaks with NBC Mach reporter Dan Falk about the possibilities of fusion power. “Fusion will have one of the smallest possible environmental footprints of any power source,” says Whyte. “It will be sustainable for the foreseeable future of mankind.”
A new study by MIT researchers that sheds light on heat transfer in boiling water could allow nuclear power plants to run more efficiently, reports Jim Efstathiou Jr. for Bloomberg News. “Learning more about how heat is transferred could help safely boost the output from nuclear power plants by as much as 20 percent,” Efstathiou explains.
Prof. Theodore Postol writes for The New York Times about the potential consequences of the United States of America withdrawing from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. “It is the unimaginable capabilities of these weapons that must take center stage when considering the giant and still unknown terrors and threats they pose to global stability and humanity’s future,” argues Postol.
Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speaks with Marketplace reporter Sabri Ben-Achour about MITEI’s study showing the potential impact of nuclear power in addressing climate change. Buongiorno noted that if costs can be reduced and more supportive policies enacted, nuclear power has the “potential to decarbonize the power sector on a global scale.”
MIT alumna Rita Baranwal has been nominated for Assistant Secretary of Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, writes Lalit Jha for the Press Trust of India. If approved, Baranwal will be responsible for “nuclear technology research and the development and management of the department's nuclear technology infrastructure.”