Should Google go Nuclear?

Just ran into this extremely interesting google video presentation done by one of the founders of the US Tokamak Fusion Program, Dr. Robert W. Bussard, who is looking for funding(approx 200 mil) to build a new revolutionary type of reactor that can produce several orders of magnitude higher fusion power than earlier electrostatic confinement devices. The talk is on Google video and is approximately an hour and a half long, but it is well worth it.

video.google.com...

Very technical btw. You can skip the first half hour if you don't have time, at 30 minutes he starts talking more about his work instead of the physics behind Fusion.

[edit on 18-11-2006 by sardion2000]

[edit on 19-11-2006 by sardion2000]

Nice find, well worth watching. Although I didn't understand the whole thing it was still engaging and thought provoking. It'd be good if Google took his work on.

THE Bussard as in Bussard ramjet fame..?? If so nifty.

There is no question that some of the .com firms have the cash to support and play in research and I'm they do make donations but I find it unlikely a Google would take this on as a pet project....

However, people like Branson have shown the possibility with marketing tie ins to existing brands, of pushing the envelope....

Originally posted by UofCinLA
THE Bussard as in Bussard ramjet fame..?? If so nifty.

Yup, the one and the same.

There is no question that some of the .com firms have the cash to support and play in research and I'm they do make donations but I find it unlikely a Google would take this on as a pet project....

Why not? 200 million is chump change for them nowadays. It will also be in their best interest, because one of their fastest growing costs is electricity consumption.

[edit on 19-11-2006 by sardion2000]

yeah I could see google investing 200 mil into something like that. I read an interview with the founders Larry and Sergey and they said something along the lines of how they would invest 100 mil into projects with a billion dollar potential over 10 years and I would think this could easily do that; especially with the rising costs of energy. I wonder how much electricity google uses to keep its data centers alive etc??? even if they just got a small discount or cheaper electricity it could pay for itself quickly, and then they could sell to other customers.

With all the petty stuff the wealthy spend money on or invest in you'd think Dr. Bussard would have no problem. The problem is that he's old and in failing health. If anyone plans to do this they better get on it quickly. The guy definitely has the credentials and he has built working prototypes. It's too bad he's wasted so much time with the government. This needs to go private sector and soon.

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[edit on 8-5-2007 by jtma508]

There's actually many amateurs working on fusion reactors, over at fusor.net they have forums and articles describing fusion reactors and designs. They only seem to be working on inertial electrostatic confinement reactors such as the one Farnsworth built. Over 14 people have achieved fusion reactions with their homemade reactors and many more have produced plasma. No one has stepped up to build a Polywell reactor however, but when Bussard releases his paper this October I imagine some will step up. A practical Polywell fusion reactor will be made, maybe by some garage physicist. ITER is a moneypit.

This is very big news! I hope something actually comes out of it though...

Governor Schwarzenegger to research Revolutionary Radiation Free Fusion Reactor

The project is focused on the Inertial Electrostatic Fusion reactor invented by the award winning American physicist Dr. Robert W. Bussard. The Radiation Free Fusion Reactor has the potential to change the whole landscape of energy generation, which is usually a choice between bad and worse options that include Nuclear, Coal and Natural Gas systems.