A chara, – Prompted by spiralling costs at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), Nick Armstrong (January 11th) questions the rationale for investing in nuclear fusion. It should be remembered that we live in an epoch where electromagnetic forces, governing all of chemistry, are much weaker than the more mysterious nuclear force, binding nuclei together.
So, by rejigging the nuclei rather than the electrons in atoms, one stands to get more energy out. Ultimately, nuclear fusion is a smarter way to produce energy; it necessitates less interference by us, ie fewer artificial reactions, and will hopefully lead long-term to a smaller environmental footprint. – Is mise,
Dr EOIN O COLGAIN,
CN Yang Institute for
Theoretical Physics,
State University of New
York, Stony Brook,
New York, US.