New Scientist Premium- The great fusion experiment - Features: "The great fusion experiment
12 November 2005
Karl Schneider
Magazine issue 2525
It's back, it's hot and it's bigger than ever - will fusion power silence the critics for good, asks New Scientist
SANDWICHED between the brackish waters of Takahoko lake and Obuchi lake in northern Japan lies a stretch of land that could change our planet's future. All our worries about sky-high oil prices and damaging greenhouse gases could fade if the Japanese government decides to make this the home of a project that could lead to almost unlimited amounts of cheap, clean electricity within 50 years.
Scientists had originally earmarked the land at Rokkasho as one of two possible sites for a vast nuclear fusion experiment called ITER. The aim of ITER is to tame the same nuclear fusion process that powers the sun and produce 10 times as much energy as is it takes to run the machine. In June, after years of political wrangling, officials from six governments finally decided to build ITER in southern France. But despite losing out, Rokkasho may yet be home to another project that ..."
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