World's Largest Fusion Project Is in Big Trouble, New Documents Reveal

Trouble viewing? View in your browser. View all Scientific American publications.

    

June 15, 2023

Hello Readers, I'm filling in for Lee Billings this week. Our top story is an investigative piece from journalist Charles Seife, who obtained documents showing that the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor currently being constructed in southern France is woefully on track to become the most expensive and delayed science project in history. Read more below!

Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

Renewable Energy World's Largest Fusion Project Is in Big Trouble, New Documents Reveal The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is already billions of dollars over budget and decades behind schedule. How much more money and time it will take to complete, not even its leaders can say By Charles Seife

Space Exploration Bad Data, Not Aliens, May Be behind UFO Surge, NASA Team Says More and better data are required to solve the mystery of strange apparitions in the air, the sea and space, according to NASA's Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study team By Leonard David

Mathematics Cleo, the Mysterious Math Menace In 2013 a new user named Cleo took an online math forum by storm with unproved answers. Today she's an urban legend. But who was she? By Allison Parshall,Tulika Bose,Carin Leong | 11:46

Astronomy At Last, Astronomers May Have Seen the Universe's First Stars Telltale evidence gathered by the James Webb Space Telescope suggests we're closer than ever before to finding elusive Population III stars By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Space Exploration Scientists Make Best-Yet Map of Solar System's Interstellar Boundaries Researchers have gained a new view of the journey ahead for the twin Voyager spacecraft and other probes bound on one-way trips into interstellar space By Theo Nicitopoulos

Space Exploration Space Farmers of the Future May Grow Fungi, Flies and Microgreens Here's how the winners of NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge are making food out of thin air By Allison Parshall

Renewable Energy Scientists Beam Solar Power to Earth from Space for First Time Ever The MAPLE experiment was able to wirelessly transfer collected solar power to receivers in space and direct energy to Earth By Robert Lea,SPACE.com

Particle Physics The Weirdest Particles in the Universe Neutrinos are bizarre and ubiquitous and may just break the rules of physics By Clara Moskowitz

QUOTE OF THE DAY "We are of course very much aware of the consequences as far as schedule and cost are concerned--and they will not be insignificant." Pietro Barabaschi, ITER's director general, commenting on the delays caused by technical challenges with the reactor, in a November 2022 ITER press release.

FROM THE ARCHIVE What Is the Future of Fusion Energy? Nuclear fusion won't arrive in time to fix climate change, but it could be essential for our future energy needs By Philip Ball | June 2023

LATEST ISSUES

Questions?   Comments?

Download the Scientific American App

To view this email as a web page, go here. You received this email because you opted-in to receive email from Scientific American. To ensure delivery please add newsletters@scientificamerican.com to your address book. Unsubscribe     Manage Email Preferences     Privacy Policy     Contact Us

Scientific American

1 New York Plaza, FDR Dr, Floor 46, New york, NY 10004

Unsubscribe - Unsubscribe Preferences