Fusion scientists are heating up their case for a major new experiment. At a summit last month in Snowmass, Colorado, fusion experts from around the world concluded that they could use a new facility for studying burning plasma, a state of matter that gets most of its heat from fusing hydrogen. Now they have to decide which of several designs is best--and persuade policy-makers to come up with the money.
CREDIT: PPPL
The summiteers didn't make recommendations, but many predicted that two proposals will dominate discussions within the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC), a U.S. advisory body: ITER, a multibillion-dollar magnetic-fusion facility planned by an international consortium; and FIRE, a less ambitious version proposed by U.S. scientists. Summit organizer and FESAC member Gerald Navratil of Columbia University expects the panel to come up with a recommendation to DOE after it meets next month in Washington, D.C.
