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Energy: our modern way of life depends on it. A large portion of the modern
economy rides on it. Colossal fortunes have been built finding and developing
energy sources. However, today, the world is heading towards a major crisis.
Since the industrial revolution, the world's need for energy has grown
exponentially. This growth has been easily sustained, thanks to an inexpensive
supply of fossil fuels conveniently stored in the ground, by nature, over
millions of years. But these abundant years are coming to an end. It is now
becoming apparent that the use of fossil fuel is not without considerable damage
to the environment. Acid rain, smog, pollution and global warming; the toll
exerted on our planet by the use of this resource has been enormous and if the
growth of fossil fuel use continues unchecked, the worse is yet to come. The scientific
community and many governments are recognising this fact and are trying to
reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. But old habits die hard. It will be
painful and may reduce economic growth, but this reduction is necessary to
prevent further degradation of our environment.
There is a nicer way out of this crisis. Scientists have known for years that
the ultimate solution for our energy needs is fusion. Fusion is a process where
hydrogen isotopes found in abundance in seawater are fused together to form
helium. Both the fuel and the by-product of the reaction are totally safe for
the environment and vast amounts of energy are produced. However, the technology
needed to achieve this reaction is difficult. The scientific establishment has
spent billions over the last 40 years studying ways of building a practical
fusion reactor to produce power. Slow, but steady progress has been maintained
and today there is a shift from "can it be done?" to "how can we
do it economically?" in the fusion research community. The understanding of
the physics involved is at its highest level ever and all that is needed now is
an innovative reactor design idea. It is a good time for the private sector to
join in and turn this wealth of knowledge into a commercial product.
General Fusion is working on a new, patent pending concept based on a recent
development in fusion research called Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF). MTF has
been building momentum in the fusion community for a few years now. It is the
goal of General Fusion to demonstrate this new clean, safe and economical
concept by 2010.
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