Eric Lerner, chief scientist at Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Inc. in Middlesex and electrical engineer Fred Van Roessel are shown just before a fusion shot at the facility. Oscilloscopes are collecting data. / Photo by Rezwan Razani
Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Inc. Chief Scientist Eric Lerner discusses experimental plans. / Photo by Gregory Williams
Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Inc. research team members Aaron Blake and Derek Shannon place lead bricks that stabilize the Focus Fusion 1 research device when it fires. / Photo by Rezwan Razani
This picture shows the end of the copper electrodes at the heart of a dense plasma device developed by Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Inc. in Middlesex. This is where tiny plasmoid form and heat up to billions of degrees. The inner electrode is 2 inches across and the outher electrode is a 4-inch-wide circle of 16 copper roads. More than 1 millino amps of current flow beween the electrodes when the devices fires. / Photo by Rezwan Razani
More
The process has been compared to reproducing lightning, but researcher Eric Lerner prefers a more poetic simile to describe the technology of fusion energy that his company is developing.
Some compare it to controlling a lightning bolt, I think its more dramatic than that its more like reproducing a miniature solar flare because almost the same exact process happens on the surface of the sun, said Lerner, chief scientist and owner of Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Inc. in Middlesex.
But no matter how you describe it, the leap that Lerners company has just made is a significant one recognized by his peers in the scientific community.
The companys Focus Fusion 1 research device has achieved the highest temperature magnetic confinement ever recorded for any device. The results have been peer-reviewed and published on March 23 in Physics of Plasmas, a journal devoted to plasma physics.
The significance of this means that we have now achieved two out of the three criteria needed to produce fusion energy, Lerner said.
The project to design and perfect the device began in the early 1990s, but the lab has only been operating full time since 2009. Lerner was first introduced to the technology in the 1970s by two pioneers in the field at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Lerner said in the past the project had been funded by NASA, but now is solely funded through private investors.
At the core of the technology
What we have been able to achieve is really very exciting. We have been able to confine or trap with a magnetic field ions, which are the nuclei of atoms, and create energy that is 1.8 billion degrees C, which is the highest temperature achieved so far, Lerner said.
He said the achievement is important because the goal is to burn a type of fusion fuel made up of hydrogen and boron that will not create neutrons so there will be no radioactivity.
The ultimate goal is to create a device that will be very compact and produce electricity that will cost 10 times less than coal.
The beauty of fusion energy is that it is not only significantly cheaper than coal, but since its based on nuclear energy, it doesnt create any greenhouse gases or radioactivity, Lerner said.
He is beaming with joy over the companys recent accomplishment because there is now only one more step to master before he and his team have cracked the code on fusion energy.
We now have the temperature needed to burn the fuel. We are able to keep the match turned on long enough to ignite the fuel. What we need to do is improve the density of the fuel, Lerner said.
The denser it is, the faster it will burn so now we are faced with pushing the density a long way and thats our next goal, he said.
There are approximately 40 laboratories around the world working on dense plasma fusion.
Lerner said Iran has the most groups working on the technology, and he and other researchers in the U.S. recently have made a public proposal to the Iranian government to enter into a partnership to collaborate on this energy solution.
Once perfected, one small device could supply 5,000 households with electricity, Lerner said.
He said he recently was in discussion with the state Board of Public Utilities about funding to develop fusion energy, but was told it did not have the funds available.
This technology could be revolutionary for the worlds economy. The average person in this world is extremely poor; if we want to change this, we need to triple or quadruple the amount of energy we are producing because the cost of energy to the average person has become like a gigantic tax, Lerner said.
The development of this energy source could potentially free the world from its reliance on oil and gasoline, he said.
