美国国家公共电台 NPR--What does the nuclear fusion breakthrough mean for the future?

What does the nuclear fusion¹ breakthrough mean for the future?

Transcript²

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks to Dennis Whyte of the Plasma³ Science and Fusion Center at MIT, about what the expected announcement about fusion energy means for climate and energy sustainability on Earth.

ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:

Let's turn now to Dr. Dennis Whyte to ask what this means for the long term. He's the director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT. Dr. Whyte, this is being called a breakthrough in the search for limitless, clean energy. In a few words, how would you explain this to someone who knows very little about this?

DENNIS WHYTE: Right. So in fusion, what you're doing is literally⁴ fusing or pushing together these hydrogen atoms. They turn into helium. This is what happens in our sun as well, too. And when that happens, that can release large amounts of net energy. So what we've been - the achievement of this, which sounds a little bit like science fiction, that you have to achieve extremely high temperatures...

SCHMITZ: It does, yeah.

WHYTE: ...Like over 50 million degrees - has eluded⁵ us about making net energy out of any single sort of event of this. So if confirmed this morning by the secretary of energy, this is indeed a breakthrough.

SCHMITZ: Later this morning, we expect to hear scientists say that they have achieved ignition. What does that mean?

WHYTE: Right. So the definition varies slightly between the different ways that you approach fusion. But the definition that was provided by the National Academies was that for this particular approach to fusion, which uses lasers, that when the amount of fusion energy exceeded the input⁶ laser energy, then that was the definition of ignition. There's various other definitions which matter for making it economically viable⁷.

SCHMITZ: And as I understand it, they're generating no electricity. And they are using vastly more electricity than they get out in fusion. But the lasers need a lot of electricity, right? So this experiment still took energy off the grid⁸?

WHYTE: That's correct. I mean, to be clear, they were not even attempting to make electricity out of it.

SCHMITZ: Yeah.

WHYTE: And, in fact, this is one of the other aspects that needs to improve, is that you need to get fairly high levels of gain to make this a viable energy source, you know, to be a practical power plant. But getting over the threshold scientifically of seeing net energy is a major accomplishment⁹ because you see for the first time sort of the physical conditions of which will be required for a power plant as we extrapolate forward.

SCHMITZ: Dr. Whyte, given what we know now, how long do you estimate it'll take for scientists to be able to replicate¹⁰ this discovery on a broader scale so that societies can actually use this type of energy? And what steps will we need to take to do that?

WHYTE: Right. Well, the exciting thing is that this has been pursued, you know, by science, scientists around the world, including in the United States, obviously, for many decades. And we've made important progress scientifically towards this. But what's changed in the context of this, of what we think - we anticipate with this announcement, is that, indeed, the advent¹¹ of a private sector¹² in fusion also indicates about both the push and the - you know, because of climate change - and the pull that's coming from the commercial sector about getting to the point where we can actually put this on the grid. And there is a push to try to do this within the next decade. It is difficult. The technology is difficult. But these are these kinds of advances that provide hope to us that, in fact, we're on the right path.

SCHMITZ: Dennis Whyte is the director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT. Dennis, thank you.

WHYTE: Bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF I AM ROBOT AND PROUD'S "THE WORK")

1 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 plasma   

n.血浆，细胞质，乳清

参考例句：

• Keep some blood plasma back for the serious cases.留一些血浆给重病号。
• The plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is free of cells .血浆是血液的液体部分，不包含各种细胞。

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

7 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

8 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

9 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

10 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

11 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。