— Biocompatible graphene transistor array reads cellular signals — Researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, a graphene-based transistor array that is compatible with living biological cells and capable of recording the electrical signals…
— Researchers find some smartphone models more vulnerable to attack — New research from North Carolina State University shows that some smartphones specifically designed to support the Android mobile platform have incorporated additional features that…
— MIT: New algorithm may improve defensive driving — In 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2.3 million automobile crashes occurred at intersections across the United States, resulting in some 7,000…
— Researchers use CT to recreate Stradivarius violin — Using computed tomography (CT) imaging and advanced manufacturing techniques, a team of experts has created a reproduction of a 1704 Stradivarius violin. Three-dimensional images of…
— Terminator-style info-vision takes step towards reality — The streaming of real-time information across your field of vision is a step closer to reality with the development of a prototype contact lens that could potentially provide the wearer…
— Scientists invent long-lasting, near infrared-emitting material — Materials that emit visible light after being exposed to sunlight are commonplace and can be found in everything from emergency signage to glow-in-the-dark stickers. But until now,…
— Team of researchers develop world's lightest material — A team of researchers from UC Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology have developed the world's lightest material - with a density of 0.9 mg/cc - about…
— Humans can control a cursor with power of thought — The act of mind reading is something usually reserved for science-fiction movies but researchers in America have used a technique, usually associated with identifying epilepsy, for…
— Nanoparticles improve solar collection efficiency — Using minute graphite particles 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, mechanical engineers at Arizona State University hope to boost the efficiency - and profitability…
Scientists study fusion to search for an energy solution
Scientists at UC San Diego's Centre for Energy Research (CER) know we need to scale up successful fusion processes to produce energy in an efficient, economical, and environmentally benign way. They are working on some of the tough problems that stand in the way of efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly energy sources. Fusion research is one of the long standing focus areas at the CER, whose members also perform basic and applied research in the fields of solar energy, combustion, laser technologies and related disciplines. Housed within the Jacobs School, the CER is the second largest university-based fusion energy group in the United States.
The sun is a giant natural fusion reactor that releases massive amounts of energy when pairs of hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium. Creating and controlling the conditions that will support safe and economical generation of energy from fusion here on Earth is a major challenge, but the payoff would be astronomical: power plants with nearly unlimited fuel production capacity, no chemical byproducts, and no long-term radioactive waste.
The CER has several programs focused on next generation fusion solutions, including PISCES, which focuses on fundamental and applied experimental research in the field of boundary plasma science for fusion applications. PISCES is an example of how the CER is working on solutions for ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. This joint research project between the United States, the European Union, Japan, Russia, China, and South Korea will be the first fusion experiment to produce long pulses of energy released on a significant scale.
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