Nuclear Fusion
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history and science of nuclear fusion, the process that powers stars.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss nuclear fusion, the process that powers stars. In the 1920s physicists predicted that it might be possible to generate huge amounts of energy by fusing atomic nuclei together, a reaction requiring enormous temperatures and pressures. Today we know that this complex reaction is what keeps the Sun shining. Scientists have achieved fusion in the laboratory and in nuclear weapons; today it is seen as a likely future source of limitless and clean energy.
Guests:
Philippa Browning, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester
Steve Cowley, Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Justin Wark, Professor of Physics and fellow of Trinity College at the University of Oxford
Producer: Thomas Morris.
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LINKS AND FURTHER READING
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READING LIST:
Jean Louis Bobin, Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion (World Scientific, 2014)
Francis F. Chen, An Indispensable Truth: How Fusion Power Can Save The Planet (Springer, 2011)
Maxwell Irvine, Nuclear Power: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011)
Andrew King, Stars: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2012)
Garry McCracken and Peter Stott, Fusion: The Energy of the Universe (Academic Press, 2005)
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Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Melvyn Bragg |
Interviewed Guest | Philippa Browning |
Interviewed Guest | Steve Cowley |
Interviewed Guest | Justin Wark |
Producer | Thomas Morris |
Broadcasts
- Thu 30 Oct 2014 09:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Thu 30 Oct 2014 21:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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