The Star Builders: Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet

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Writing this in early 2023, I must note that the book is very very dated. There wasn't just 1 reference made to the NIF net-gain fusion goal, but the author returned to it again and again and again. NIF accomplished the goal earlier than expected, and that may be a positive sign that things really are heating up in the fusion race. This is such a transformative development that I really want some kind of supplemental followup to expand on all the statements the book made like "If NIF hits net-gain fusion first..." It happened! Now what? Limit the damage from neutrons bombarding the reactor by choosing the right materials to withstand the pounding If you think that nuclear fusion is an obscure scientific topic, think twice. You already hear about it more and more in the media, and - at least according to the author of this book and its main characters - it may well be the most important source of energy in the future, hopefully in the very near future. Retaining our 5-star status has certainly been a team effort, and every single person at Bellway has played their part, so we’d like to say thank you to our wonderful staff.

I hated physics at school and still rarely read about it but I am glad that I have made an exception. First of all, nuclear physics is unquestionably fascinating. Second, the author is extremely gifted - he can explain the most complicated scientific problems in a comprehensive and interesting way. Combining such first grade popular science with engaging on-the-ground reporting, he wrote a book that will please any curious mind. You will not only learn - and understand! - how nuclear fusion works, but also how stars are born, how we can avoid the energy crisis, what are the dangers of nuclear power and where is the hottest place in the solar system (spoiler: a village in Oxfordshire). Be wary of magazine and newspaper awards. They have so many categories everyone is a 'winner' of something - provided of course the house builder has paid for plenty of advertising! In total, 41 housebuilders received the highest award of five stars. This includes volume housebuilders Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Vistry and Redrow, who have also been listed in FT’s Diversity Leaders 2023. Every crisis has its possible miracle cure. And the ultimate cure for our energy woes would be nuclear fusion, the same process that makes stars shine….In his new book the plasma physicist and science writer Arthur Turrell [writes of] "star builders," the researchers and engineers who want to create a small star on Earth….While Turrell withholds judgment on which of the different fusion technologies might be most promising, he freely offers an optimistic outlook for the future of fusion power and is adamant about the need to invest in it.”

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Scores are published quarterly, using the latest 12-month rolling data, approximately four weeks after each ‘reporting period’ closes.

Andrew Marns and Richard Oldroyd, divisional chairmen for Bloor Homes, said: “To have achieved five-star status for a fifth consecutive year is a credit to all our teams who consistently put our focus on quality of our build and great customer service into practice. It reflects all the things we are doing right as a housebuilder. Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to make our customer journey the five-star standard it is.” Dave and Phil are amazing builders. They were always on time, and worked hard. They only took one break a day for their..." Early in the book, the author established just how complicated and expensive the machines necessary to do this are. The author provides the example of the gigantic laser at the NIF (National Ignition Facility) which is, with no exaggeration, just as, if not more, complicated than the most advanced space shuttles. Dr. Arthur Turrell also delves into the feasibility and why many people dismiss nuclear fusion, given how little energy is given off currently. This book doesn't go into as much detail on the science behind these machines as I would have hoped. He mostly focuses on the frontier of development, though he does an extremely good job of making the audience understand the science put behind it.

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This customer service recognition is then complemented with wider industry kudos for Redrow, with double silver at the What House? Awards – regularly referred to as the ‘Oscars’ of the housebuilding industry – for Best Large Housebuilder category and Best Public Realm. We also received two top awards for graduate training, and customer satisfaction in the industry’s annual Housebuilder Awards. I want to introduce this with a caveat: this is and would be a really interesting book for anyone wholly unfamiliar with the idea of nuclear fusion, or perhaps for someone with a little bit more patience than me. Winning this award for an eighth successive year is a fantastic achievement. It shows how our entire team has continued to achieve high standards and first-class service over the past year.”

We are currently 2/3rds of the way through having a new kitchen installed. This job involved removing an internal wall..." For inertial confinement, continuous operation is a dream. A tiny, intricately designed and built target is pelted by lasers into collapsing on itself to generate the fusion reaction, plasma, and incredible heat. The whole process lasts ten billionths of a second, if everything works. That is the time that inertia keeps the plasma viable and everything in its place. The HBF five-star rating is testament to our continuous efforts in rolling out customer service focused initiatives, including: Managing director, Guy Higgins, said: “We’re proud and delighted to have again received such high praise from our customers.” The Star Builders presents a look at the current state of the development of nuclear fusion as a power source. My reason for reading this is that I’ve heard about nuclear fusion and its potential as a clean energy source for years, but I never really knew any of the details about it how would work. Fusion has the potential to produce more energy than it uses, and without the waste problems that nuclear fission can create. This would obviously be a huge benefit to humanity and the environment.The Home Builders Federation has released this year’s results from the National New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS), with 41 housebuilders receiving a five-star rating. In an impressively reported debut, plasma physicist Turrell surveys the global development of nuclear fusion as an energy source… Readers will find plenty of answers—and optimism—about the future of fusion here.” Providing a full range of building, renovation and property management services, our team works with you to build, renovate and maintain beautiful homes and commercial premises and to take the hassle out of building works. As an introduction to fusion The Star Builders isn’t as good as The Future of Fusion Energy but it is better on giving a view of the various projects that Turrell looks at. One thing that is worth noting is that Turrell writes really well. Hopefully he’ll write more. The table below shows the latest 12-month rolling data from the National new homes customer satisfaction survey (CSS).

As the representative for the new homes industry and the customers within it, each year the HBF collates the National New Homes Survey - one of the largest consumer satisfaction surveys in the country - to calculate a star rating for all builders who are part of the scheme. This survey is operated independently by the NHBC. It was not that long ago that John Lawson figured out the three major factors of fusion and how much weight they carried in making a Tokamak reactor work. His key discovery was that there is no constant. A combination of density, temperature and plasma is all that is needed: “A Tokamak that could reach temperatures of more than 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million Fahrenheit), densities of more than 10,000 billion particles in each cubic centimeter, and energy in the plasma that is confined for more than 100 seconds … would hit his requirements and ignite its fusion plasma,” Turrell says. That’s “all” it would take to create a star on Earth, according to Lawson. Finding the right amount for each factor has been a life’s work for thousands of scientists around the world.I get it. It's the title of the book. Maybe, Arthur Turrell, you're trying to make it some kind of brand, or make the idea of people who work in fusion facilities and plasma science more accessible or awe-inspiring or something. The Star Builders is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the Commonwealth (including the UK), by LEDA in the Czech Republic, and by Scribner in the United States. I'm left thirsty for more details about the plasma instabilities that can redirect the laser energy in direct-drive inertial confinement systems. Previously, I always saw the NIF target design as either nonsense or weapons-specialized research, of no practical bearing to energy-oriented fusion. The book disabused me of a few of these prejudices towards inertial confinement. Indeed, it seems that virtually all approaches have a problem with plasma instabilities for the simple reason that fusion must happen in a plasma due to first-principles. Those plasma problems are problems for laser inertial confinement, and could destroy the machine if not managed well. I very much want to know more about this, and about the status of direct-drive machines that exist in the world. This is not a problem of the book, it's just a statement. Steven Boyes, chief operating officer at Barratt Developments, commented: “We put the customer at the heart of everything we do, and building high quality homes is fundamental to that. To have been rated as a five-star housebuilder by over 90% of our customers for 14 years in a row is something we work really hard to achieve. The best recommendation is one from a friend, so it’s great to know that so many of our customers recommend our homes.”