Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 3:31
What the FUSION? Welcome Matthias Hohenberger of Lawrence Livermore National laboratory!
Okay, what that means is ultimately when we tweak this and we work on this for the next couple of years, we will be able to show that we can create clean energy by using the process of nuclear fusion. This is extraordinary. Now we know we have a bad record of supporting things like this when they really are disruptive. If any of you saw the what happened to the electric car in the lot of the people that didn't want the electric car around?
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:04
So as I left this first, well, I realized I really wanted to understand this so much more. And I made a phone call to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a wonderful woman answered the phone. Her name is Anne Stark in the public Communications office, and she has graciously connected us with Matthias Hollenberger. And I'm so excited, excited that he is going to join us in this conversation. Matthias. Welcome to swell
She's also in the field, she also works at the lab. So it's just a really wonderful moment here. And after the experiment on Monday, a week ago, we were pretty sure we had it, but of course you have to make sure some of the analysis takes a while and you want to make sure that everything just checks out. And so today, finally this is out and it's just absolutely wonderful to be able to share this with the world and talk about this exciting accomplishment
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:46
Can you help us understand sort of the, I guess, the difference between fusion and fission, but specifically when fusion happens, why is it so unusual to have extra energy come out of that experience? Because I think some of us know energy and energy out, but why is it so interesting in this moment? And is it something that people didn't believe was going to happen, and now it's happening? There's a couple of questions, and they're packed in. Please take your time
So at the light end of the periodic table, you have hydrogen, that's just a single proton. And then you get heavy elements which have more protons and neutrons like iron, uranium. Uranium has 92 protons and something like 142 neutrons. And so fission is the process by which a nucleus splits up into two smaller ones. So you start with something heavy and end up with two or more lighter elements
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:49
I want to ask you, from the perspective of intellectual property and of discovery and of the scientific pacific community, lawrence Liberal National Laboratory has done this, and there are very few places in the world where this could actually be done anyway because it requires so much infrastructure. What's the industry that supports this look like? And is information flowing freely between all parties that are excited and concerned around the world?
Eric Owens
@EricG · 1:16
Hey, Nebraska. Hi, eric here. Thanks so much for the invite. Sorry to hear about your dad. You're right. This fusion energy thing really is huge. It's too bad that it doesn't get the media attention that it deserves. Hopefully that will change over time. I've been watching this fusion energy thing for some time now and they're making and big strides in 2022, so who knows what will happen starting next year
We are purely a research facility, and we can't actually do these experiments at a rate fast enough for power production. But you can very much think of this in terms of the Wright brothers moment. The first flight in 19 three was only about 100ft, which is hardly useful for anyone, really. But the implication of that demonstration of flight were enormous, and it changed society. And that is very much how I see today's announcement
Aayan B
@aayanisms · 2:29
As it turns out, the world is still focusing on other things. And in fact, I was just noticing some of the top trends in the country. In India is the Argentina versus Croatia football world cup semifinal match. I was like, Why is the world not excited about fusion energy or clean energy? I mean, this is a breakthrough which doesn't come every decade, probably six decades or more, to get to where this breakthrough is today
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 3:14
And for you individually, is this a game changer for you? And if so, how so? Yeah, this is really where I guess that'll be the medal for me when I think about, like, people waking up in the morning. How has this changed the individual scientists life and perception of where they belong and what they should be doing?
And the point that lights up at the center where the fusion reactions take place is about the width of a hair. So it's tiny. But that point, for a tiny moment in time, becomes the brightest point on Earth. And I think that's just so mind blowing
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:38
Matthias. I just wanted to tell you that this explanation brought me to such a specific visual map. I really saw the process, and you did it so well. I didn't need a YouTube video. I really understand the premise of this experience that you described, and I just reswelled it, which means that I popped it out in the feed so people can hear this and comment, because it was so perfect and framed so well. And I get it
And here it is worth pointing out that Lawrence Livermore National Lab is a US national lab. It's tasked with ensuring the safety of the nation and energy independence. So having clean, safe and abundant energy absolutely falls under that umbrella. But what we're also doing here very publicly is saying, look, we're attracting some of the smartest people in the world to work on the most difficult problems and we're figuring it out. We're doing this
There's sometimes a cynical view that scientists hype up ideas to keep funding flowing. And what's the whole point of this? But I don't see that at all. I really don't. The people I see are incredibly hardworking and dedicated to doing something that may help improve the world. And ultimately, isn't that a commendable thing? Right? To try and make the world a better place. I really believe that
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:53
And I think that's really where the challenges for all these industries that are trying to show what the future might look like to help people join along in the enthusiasm, make sure that the funding is there and make sure we vote with our understanding as well. Because I think that as citizens, we need to always make sure we're putting people in the right seats who really believe in progress and in science and in the power of putting dollars into research. It's just critical