Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The problems of fossil fuels are increasingly apparent, global warming and supply shortages being the leading concerns. The possibility of a new energy source with no global warming impact, which could be a pure fusion power plant or a hybrid fusion fission power plant that burns and cleans up the waste of nuclear fission power plants is therefore highly attractive. With the first demonstration of thermo-nuclear ignition in the laboratory anticipated within just a few years at the world's most powerful laser the National Ignition Facility, and the advanced concept of fast ignition offering higher energy gains and requiring less ignition energy, a viable pathway to almost limitless clean energy may be opening up. The general concept of inertial fusion energy and the status and prospects of fast ignition will be discussed.

Dr. Key's Web Site

4:00 p.m., Physics Research Building (PRB), Room 1080

Reception at 3:45 p.m., Atrium, PRB