The Star Builders

June 15, 2021
An expert account of the immense international research effort to develop practical nuclear fusion. Physicist and science writer Turrell reminds readers that burning fossil fuels provides 86% of the world's energy. Scientists warn that we must massively reduce this number in order to avoid climate catastrophe, but it's still growing. The author and the researchers he has consulted have a low opinion of renewables such as solar, wind, and hydropower. They feel that atomic power is a good method despite its problems, including public relations problems and issues related to scale. One possible solution is controlled nuclear fusion. Fusion produces 10 million times the energy of coal. Turrell explains that the process of two hydrogen atoms slamming together to form a helium atom releases immense energy but also requires titanic pressure and heat. Scientists can achieve fusion in the lab, but this requires expending energy. It happens deep within the sun, so current research projects require confining hydrogen under immense pressure and at millions of degrees of temperature. Since no container could survive contact with such material, this must take place in midair. Traveling the world, Turrell describes wildly complex efforts to achieve this with combinations of magnetism, inertia, pressure, and lasers. These efforts sometimes work, but only for short periods. No project has yet produced more energy than it consumes, but scientists are optimistic. One famous quip notes, "Fusion is the energy of the future...and always will be." A diligent journalist, Turrell does not overhype his subject, delivering a painless education with asides on the history of the universe, the life cycle of stars, and the dismal consequences if we don't stop burning fossil fuels. According to the author and countless scientists, this can only happen if nuclear fusion succeeds. "The ingredients of even the most basic form of fusion...could last us around 33 million years," he writes. Important, high-quality popular science.

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June 28, 2021
In an impressively reported debut, plasma physicist Turrell surveys the global development of nuclear fusion as an energy source. The idea of harnessing the power of stars on Earth has for decades, Turrell writes, “captivated scientists, governments, billionaires, entrepreneurs, celebrities, a pornography magnate, and even a few dictators.” He details competing efforts to arrive at nuclear fusion­—a process whereby the nuclei of atoms are combined at extreme temperatures and pressures to produce energy with less radioactive waste than fission—among them the American government-funded National Ignition Facility, with the “world’s biggest and highest energy laser”; the Joint European Torus in the U.K.; and programs in Germany and China, plus a slew of start-ups. Turrell shares in the hope of the scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who are sure that fusion will be able to produce a large portion of the planet’s energy in the relatively near future, allowing for a switch from fossil fuels. Though the subject matter is complex, interviews with key players and accessible descriptions keep things moving along. Readers will find plenty of answers—and optimism—about the future of fusion here. Agent: Martin Redfern, Northbank Talent/Cameo House.

August 1, 2021

This thoroughly researched, yet accessible book proposes that nuclear fusion may be the answer to the world's climate-change problems. Turrell, a Bank of England economist with a PhD in plasma physics, explores how physicists, engineers, and entrepreneurs are attempting to perfect the nuclear fusion process, which could provide limitless amounts of clean energy. The author travels to different governmental and commercial research facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom to interview experts in the field, giving readers a sense of what the researchers--or star builders--are doing to produce and control fusion energy; namely, the power source of stars. He later delves into the costs, benefits, and dangers of pursuing fusion as a viable and sustainable source of energy and discusses how fusion could eventually help nations break free from fossil-fuel dependency and the damage of climate change. The book also mentions other applications of fusion, in medicine and space travel. VERDICT Turrell's enthusiasm for the topic, as well as his clear and easy-to-understand explanations of the physics involved in nuclear fusion, make this a thought-provoking read for anyone interested in learning about the cutting-edge technology that's being applied to solving the climate crisis.--Donna Marie Smith, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL

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