The scientists, headed by Siegfried H. Glenzer and L. Jeffrey Atherton, are using 192 high powered lasers to focus large amounts of energy on a very small particle.  The goal is to achieve “ignition,” or to heat the small elemental speck to millions of degrees Fahrenheit nearly instantly, creating a small scale reaction of our own sun.  Once perfected, this reaction could yield a virtually limitless supply of clean energy.

“We’re confident of our ability to start seeking ignition this summer,” Atherton said in an interview. “And we’re optimistic that at some point soon we’ll achieve it.”

A recent article published by SFGate.com states:  “To achieve that thermonuclear reaction, the scientists will attempt to use the lasers’ immensely powerful beams to reach temperatures of more than 200 million degrees Fahrenheit and pressures millions of times greater than Earth’s atmosphere – conditions found only in the interior of the sun and stars…

“If those experiments succeed, the hydrogen isotopes would be crushed instantly and explode inward until they fuse and yield vastly more energy than the laser beams had pumped into them.”

One small step for lasers… one giant leap for Clean Tech.

Read More

Green Building Award: BottleStone

“…a combination of clay, cement, and old glass that looks uncannily like real granite, but takes much less energy to produce…”

Transportation Award: ElectraDrive

“…ElectraDrive aims to make electric conversion more accessible to the masses with its one-size-fits-all conversion kit. The kit’s designed to turn just about any car into an EV, whether it’s a sleek convertible or a hulking truck—you just take your car’s gas drivetrain out and put the company’s ElectraMount module in…”

Energy Efficiency Award: Viridis Earth

“…Viridis Earth manufactures $350 retrofit devices that can make your old a/c unit an energy-efficient wunderkind. One device cuts an air conditioner’s energy consumption by 20 to 30 percent, a reduction so substantial that the retrofit typically pays for itself in less than a year…”

Renewables Award: Focal Point Energy

“Lots of companies that use hot water or steam for manufacturing rely on gas or electricity to generate their heat. But it’s much more efficient to gather sunlight and use it to heat the water directly…  “To collect the heat, we use a reflective membrane made out of a Mylar-like material,” says Howard Harrenstien… The reflector focuses incoming sunlight into a concentrated beam, which can then be aimed at water-filled containers to make the contents boil.”

Green Building Award runner-up: Solar Red

“…By devising a system that can be put up by the same guys who nail on your roof tiles (no professional solar installer required), Solar Red has succeeded in cutting the cost of home solar by 25 to 50 percent…”

Read more

energy

A review of these items today finds that all were adopted or are working their way through the process. This is a startling achievement amidst the worst economy in 70 years, two wars, and an opposition party disinterested in cooperation. President Obama did much of what he promised, and he can do more in 2010 by cajoling Congress to do its part.

Read more

The free Hohm application will be available to anyone in the United States with a modern Internet browser. Sign up at www.microsoft-hohm.com for more details.