Michel Laberge: How synchronized hammer strikes could generate nuclear fusion

翻译人员: Xiaoou Chen 校对人员: Yuanqing Edberg

Wow, this is bright.

哇，这儿很亮堂。

It must use a lot of power.

它肯定消耗很多能量。

Well, flying you all in here

你们都乘飞机来到这里

must have cost a bit of energy too.

一定也耗费了一些能量。

So the whole planet needs a lot of energy,

整个地球需要大量的能源，

and so far we've been running mostly on fossil fuel.

迄今，我们主要都在使用化石燃料。

We've been burning gas.

我们一直到在使用天然气。

It's been a good run.

到目前看来效果还不错。

It got us to where we are, but we have to stop.

它让我们来到要来的地方，但我们不得不停止使用它。

We can't do that anymore.

我们不能再使用它了。

So we are trying different types of energy now,

因此我们正在尝试不同种类的能源，

alternative energy,

异形能源，

but it proved quite difficult to find something

但要事实证明要发现

that's as convenient and as cost-effective

像石油，天然气，和煤炭一样方便

as oil, gas and coal.

和经济有效的东西是很难的。

My personal favorite is nuclear energy.

我个人最喜欢的是核能。

Now, it's very energy-dense,

核能能量密度高，

it produces solid, reliable power,

它可以产生出稳固可靠的电源，

and it doesn't make any CO2.

而且不排放二氧化碳。

Now we know of two ways

现在我们知道两种

of making nuclear energy: fission and fusion.

产生核能的方法：核裂变和核聚变。

Now in fission, you take a big nucleus,

在核裂变中，你将用一个大的原子核

you break it in part, in two,

把它分裂成两部分

and it makes lots of energy,

便会产生很多能量，

and this is how the nuclear reactor today works.

这也是现在核反应堆运行的原理。

It works pretty good.

它效果非常好。

And then there's fusion.

其次是核聚变。

Now, I like fusion. Fusion's much better.

我倾向核聚变，因为它更好。

So you take two small nuclei,

你将两个小原子核

you put it together, and you make helium,

放在一起形成一个氦原子，

and that's very nice.

那是很好的，

It makes lots of energy.

它产生很多能量。

This is nature's way of producing energy.

这是自然产生能量的方式。

The sun and all the stars in the universe

太阳和宇宙中的恒星

run on fusion.

都靠核聚变运作。

Now, a fusion plant

一个核聚变电厂

would actually be quite cost-effective

事实上非常经济有效

and it also would be quite safe.

并且很安全。

It only produces short term radioactive waste,

它只产生短期的放射性废物，

and it cannot melt down.

而且它不会熔化。

Now, the fuel from fusion comes from the ocean.

核聚变的原料来自于海洋。

In the ocean, you can extract the fuel

在海洋中你可以开采原料，

for about one thousandth of a cent

每千瓦时的成本只有千分之一美分，

per kilowatt-hour, so that's very, very cheap.

所以，那非常，非常便宜。

And if the whole planet would run on fusion,

如果整个地球依赖核聚变，

we could extract the fuel from the ocean.

我们可以从海洋中提取原料。

It would run for billions and billions of years.

它会运行上百亿年。

Now, if fusion is so great, why don't we have it?

但如果核聚变这么有用，我们为什么还没用上呢？

Where is it?

它在哪儿呢？

Well, there's always a bit of a catch.

总是有原因的。

Fusion is really, really hard to do.

核聚变非常难实行。

So the problem is, those two nuclei,

问题在于，那两个原子核

they are both positively charged,

都带有正电荷，

so they don't want to fuse.

所以它们不想融合。

They go like this. They go like that.

它们像这样背道而行，就像那样背道而去

So in order to make them fuse,

为了要让它们融合，

you have to throw them at each other with great speed,

你必须以极大的速度把它们抛向对方，

and if they have enough speed,

如果速度够大，

they will go against the repulsion,

它们就能克服斥力，

they will touch, and they will make energy.

它们就会接触，并产生能量。

Now, the particle speed

现在，颗粒的速度是

is a measure of the temperature.

衡量温度的一种方式。

So the temperature required for fusion

那么核聚变

is 150 billion degrees C.

所需要的融合的温度是 1500 亿 摄氏度。

This is rather warm,

这温度是相当暖和的，

and this is why fusion is so hard to do.

这也是为什么核聚变十分困难的原因。

Now, I caught my little fusion bug

当我在英属哥伦比亚大学攻读博士学位时

when I did my Ph.D. here at the University of British Columbia,

我发现了核聚变这个难题，

and then I got a big job in a laser printer place

之后我在为印刷工业的激光打印场

making printing for the printing industry.

找到一份任重而道远的工作。

I worked there for 10 years,

我在那里工作了 10 年，

and I got a little bit bored,

感觉工作有些无聊了，

and then I was 40, and I got a mid-life crisis,

那时我 40 岁，处于中年危机，

you know, the usual thing:

你知道，很平常的事：

Who am I? What should I do?

我是谁？我应该做什么？

What should I do? What can I do?

我该做什么？我能做什么？

And then I was looking at my good work,

然后我反思我的好工作，

and what I was doing is I was cutting the forests

我所做的只是在不列颠哥伦比亚省周围

around here in B.C.

砍伐森林而已，

and burying you, all of you,

并且将你们所有人

in millions of tons of junk mail.

埋在百万吨的垃圾邮件里。

Now, that was not very satisfactory.

而现在，那不是非常令人满意。

So some people buy a Porsche.

所以有些人买了保时捷。

Others get a mistress.

其他人找了情妇。

But I've decided to get my bit

但我决定去得到自己的赌注

to solve global warming and make fusion happen.

解决全球变暖的问题，让核聚变成为可能。

Now, so the first thing I did

现在，我做的第一件事是

is I looked into the literature and I see,

我阅览文献记载

how does fusion work?

了解核聚变如何运行。

So the physicists have been working on fusion for a while,

物理学家研究核聚变已有一段时间，

and one of the ways they do it

它们所做的实现核聚变的方法之一是

is with something called a tokamak.

使用一个叫做托卡马克的装置。

It's a big ring of magnetic coil,

这是一个有着磁性超导体

superconducting coil,

线圈的大圆环，

and it makes a magnetic field

它在圆环内部

in a ring like this,

形成磁场，

and the hot gas in the middle,

中间部分的被困的灼热气体

which is called a plasma, is trapped.

叫做等离子体，

The particles go round and round and round

那些粒子不断的

the circle at the wall.

在圆环璧上绕圈子。

Then they throw a huge amount of heat in there

然后他们将大量的热加入其中

to try to cook that to fusion temperature.

试图加热以达到核聚变的温度。

So this is the inside of one of those donuts,

这是在其中的一个圆环，

and on the right side you can see

在右侧你可以看到的是

the fusion plasma in there.

聚变等离子体。

Now, a second way of doing this

做这种东西的第二种

is by using laser fusion.

方式是激光核聚变。

Now in laser fusion, you have a little ping pong ball,

在激光核聚变中，你有一个乒乓球大小的球，

you put the fusion fuel in the center,

你将核聚变原料放在中间，

and you zap that with a whole bunch of laser around it.

然后用很多束激光在周围向其射击。

The lasers are very strong, and it squashes

那激光非常强，

the ping pong ball really, really quick.

将那乒乓球在瞬间压扁。

And if you squeeze something hard enough,

如果你用足够的力挤压某样东西，

it gets hotter,

它会变热，

and if it gets really, really fast,

如果这个过程发生得非常快，

and they do that in one billionth of a second,

在十亿分之一秒之内，

it makes enough energy and enough heat

它便会产生足够的能量和热量

to make fusion.

核聚变便可以发生。

So this is the inside of one such machine.

这是这种机器的内部。

You see the laser beam and the pellet

你可以看到激光光线和

in the center.

小球在中间。

Now, most people think that fusion is going nowhere.

很多人都认为核聚变的研究方面没有任何进展。

They always think that the physicists are in their lab

他们认为物理学家在实验室中努力研究

and they're working hard, but nothing is happening.

但一无所成。

That's actually not quite true.

事实并非如此。

This is a curve of the gain in fusion

这是过去 30 年中

over the last 30 years or so,

在核聚变方面获得成就的统计图，

and you can see that we're making now

和以前当我们开始的时候相比

about 10,000 times more fusion than we used to

你可以看到我们现在可以

when we started.

完成10000 次多核聚变。

That's a pretty good gain.

那是很大的一个成就。

As a matter of fact, it's as fast

事实上，核聚变的发展速度和传说中的摩尔定律

as the fabled Moore's Law

事实上，核聚变的发展速度和传说中的摩尔定律

that defined the amount of transistors

所描述的人们可以将三极管

they can put on a chip.

放在芯片上的发展速度一样。

Now, this dot here is called JET,

这个点叫做JET

the Joint European Torus.

也就是欧联磁核聚变设备。

It's a big tokamak donut in Europe,

它是位于欧洲的一个巨大的托卡马克圆环，

and this machine in 1997

这台机器在 1997 年

produced 16 megawatts of fusion power

在产生 16 兆瓦核聚变功率同时

with 17 megawatts of heat.

产生了 17 兆瓦的热量。

Now, you say, that's not much use,

现在，你说，那没多大用处，

but it's actually pretty close,

但事实上，它非常接近，

considering we can get

考虑到我们能得到的

about 10,000 times more than we started.

是比我们开始时所产生核聚变能量的10000倍。

The second dot here is the NIF.

这第二个点是NIF。

It's the National Ignition Facility.

全称是国家点火装置。

It's a big laser machine in the U.S.,

它是在美国的一个大型激光机器，

and last month they announced

上个月他们宣布

with quite a bit of noise

有不少争议，

that they had managed to make more fusion energy

他们已经设法

from the fusion

从核聚变那里产生了更多的核聚变能源

than the energy that they put in the center of the ping pong ball.

比给那个中间乒乓球的更多的能量。

Now, that's not quite good enough,

那还不够好，

because the laser to put that energy in

因为激光投入的能量

was more energy than that,

是比那个更多的能量。

but it was pretty good.

但已经很不错了。

Now this is ITER,

这是ITER，

pronounced in French: EE-tairh.

在法语里发音为：EE-tairh。

So this is a big collaboration of different countries

这是不同国家的一项了不起的合作

that are building a huge magnetic donut

建造了一个巨大的磁环，

in the south of France,

在法国的南部，

and this machine, when it's finished,

当这个机器被建成后

will produce 500 megawatts of fusion power

将可以利用50兆瓦

with only 50 megawatts to make it.

产生出500兆瓦的核聚变能量。

So this one is the real one.

这一个是真的。

It's going to work.

它将会投入工作。

That's the kind of machine that makes energy.

这就是那个能够制造能量的机器。

Now if you look at the graph, you will notice

如果你留心了这幅图，你会注意到

that those two dots are a little bit

那两个点

on the right of the curve.

在曲线右侧。

We kind of have fallen off the progress.

我们似乎没有赶上进度。

Actually, the science to make those machines

事实上，可以制造那些机器的科学技术

was really in time

非常及时地

to produce fusion during that curve.

在曲线间实现了核聚变。

However, there has been a bit of politics going on,

但是，有一些政治上的原因

and the will to do it was not there,

导致此项目的停止

so it drifted to the right.

因此那两个点向右侧偏移。

ITER, for example, could have been built

举个例子，ITER本可以在

in 2000 or 2005,

2000 至 2005 年间建造，

but because it's a big international collaboration,

但因为这是一个国际间的合作，

the politics got in and it delayed it a bit.

政治因素拖延了它。

For example, it took them about three years

而且，人们花了三年去决定把它

to decide where to put it.

放在哪里。

Now, fusion is often criticized

核聚变总是被批评

for being a little too expensive.

因为成本过高，

Yes, it did cost

的确，它要花费

a billion dollars or two billion dollars a year

10 至 20 亿美元一年去

to make this progress.

取得这样的进步。

But you have to compare that to the cost

但是你得将它的花费和

of making Moore's Law.

建造摩尔定律的花费比一下。

That cost way more than that.

是远远超过了核聚变研究的花费的。

The result of Moore's Law

摩尔定律的成果

is this cell phone here in my pocket.

是我口袋里的这个手机。

This cell phone, and the Internet behind it,

这个手机，和其使用的互联网

cost about one trillion dollars,

花费将尽一万亿美元，

just so I can take a selfie

只是为了我可以拍张自拍，

and put it on Facebook.

然后发表到脸谱网上。

Then when my dad sees that,

当我爸看到的时候

he'll be very proud.

会感到非常骄傲。

We also spend about 650 billion dollars a year

我们一年里还花费 6500 亿美元

in subsidies for oil and gas

去补贴石油，燃气

and renewable energy.

和可再生能源。

Now, we spend one half of a percent of that on fusion.

迄今，对于核聚变变我们只花了其 0.5% 的开支。

So me, personally, I don't think it's too expensive.

所以我个人认为，我们并没有花费过多。

I think it's actually been shortchanged,

我认为这实际上是很节约的，

considering it can solve all our energy problems

就核聚变在未来几十亿年

cleanly for the next couple of billions of years.

可以环保地解决我们所有的能源问题来说，

Now I can say that, but I'm a little bit biased,

我有些个人偏见，但我这样说

because I started a fusion company

是因为我创建了一家核聚变公司

and I don't even have a Facebook account.

而且我压根儿不用脸谱网。

So when I started this fusion company in 2002,

在 2002 我刚创建这家核聚变公司时，

I knew I couldn't fight with the big lads.

我知道我不能跟那些巨头们抗衡。

They had much more resources than me.

他们拥有更多的资源。

So I decided I would need to find a solution

我决意要找到一个

that is cheaper and faster.

便宜并迅速的解决方法。

Now magnetic and laser fusion

磁场和激光核聚变发生装置

are pretty good machines.

是很不错的机器。

They are awesome pieces of technology,

它们是了不起的科研成果，

wonderful machines, and they have shown

神奇的机器，而且它们已经展示了

that fusion can be done.

核聚变可以被完成。

However, as a power plant,

但是作为电力工厂，

I don't think they're very good.

我不认为它们非常适合。

They're way too big, way too complicated,

它们过大，过于复杂，

way too expensive,

过于昂贵

and also, they don't deal very much

而且它们不能处理

with the fusion energy.

很多核聚变能量。

When you make fusion, the energy comes out

在你制造核聚变时，能量

as neutrons, fast neutrons comes out of the plasma.

以中子，以快速的中子形式从等离子体中快速释放出来。

Those neutrons hit the wall of the machine.

那些中子撞击到机器的边墙

It damages it.

会造成损坏。

And also, you have to catch the heat from those neutrons

而且，你还需要捕获中子所产生的热量

and run some steam to spin a turbine somewhere,

并用蒸汽在某处旋转涡轮，

and on those machines,

对于那些机器来说，

it was all a bit of an afterthought.

这些都有点儿马后炮。

So I decided that surely there is a better way of doing that.

所以我想一定会有更好的方法。

So back to the literature,

我又回头阅读文献记录，

and I read about the fusion everywhere.

读遍了关于核聚变的记载。

One way in particular attracted my attention,

有一种方法格外让我着迷，

and it's called magnetized target fusion,

叫做磁化目标核聚变，

or MTF for short.

或简称为MTF。

Now, in MTF, what you want to do

你所需要做的事

is you take a big vat

是去用一个大桶

and you fill that with liquid metal,

装满液态金属，

and you spin the liquid metal

然后你旋转液态金属

to open a vortex in the center,

在中心形成一个漩涡，

a bit like your sink.

就像你家里的水槽一样。

When you pull the plug on a sink, it makes a vortex.

当你将水槽中塞子拔掉时，便会形成一个漩涡。

And then you have some pistons driven by pressure

之后由气压驱动的活塞

that goes on the outside,

在机器外围开动，

and this compresses the liquid metal

并压缩等离子体周围的

around the plasma, and it compresses it,

液态金属，当压缩它的时候

it gets hotter, like a laser,

液态金属变热，就像激光一样，

and then it makes fusion.

核聚变也就发生了。

So it's a bit of a mix

那么这就是

between a magnetized fusion

磁化核聚变

and the laser fusion.

和激光核聚变的一种混合

So those have a couple of very good advantages.

这样的核聚变有几点优势。

The liquid metal absorbs all the neutrons

液态金属吸收所有的中子

and no neutrons hit the wall,

没有中子会冲撞墙壁，

and therefore there's no damage to the machine.

因此机器也不会被损坏。

The liquid metal gets hot,

液态金属变热，

so you can pump that in a heat exchanger,

你可以将其抽入热量交换器中，

make some steam, spin a turbine.

形成一些蒸汽，并旋转涡轮。

So that's a very convenient way of doing

这是实现这部分过程的

this part of the process.

一个非常便利的方法

And finally, all the energy to make the fusion happen

这样一来呢，所有用来制造核聚变的能量

comes from steam-powered pistons,

都来自于蒸汽动力活塞

which is way cheaper than lasers

其开支要比激光

or superconducting coils.

或超导线圈便宜得多。

Now, this was all very good

这是个非常好的方法

except for the problem that it didn't quite work.

只是不怎么管用。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

There's always a catch.

总会有意想不到的事。

So when you compress that,

当你压缩时，

the plasma cools down

等离子体冷却速率

faster than the compression speed,

比压缩速率更快，

so you're trying to compress it,

虽然你试图进行压缩，

but the plasma cooled down and cooled down and cooled down

但是那等离子体逐渐冷却，

and then it did absolutely nothing.

最后却一无所成。

So when I saw that, I said, well, this is such a shame,

当看到那时我感到耻辱，

because it's a very, very good idea.

因为那本是一个很好的主意。

So hopefully I can improve on that.

但愿我可以改进它。

So I thought about it for a minute,

我想了一会，

and I said, okay, how can we make that work better?

怎样才能让它更好的运行呢？

So then I thought about impact.

所想到了冲击力。

What about if we use a big hammer

如果我们是用一个大锤子

and we swing it and we hit the nail like this,

用力摆动它，并像用力敲打钉子一样。

in the place of putting the hammer on the nail

我们不能将锤子

and pushing and try to put it in? That won't work.

放在钉子上推，那不管用。

So what the idea is

其核心思想

is to use the idea of an impact.

就是使用撞击力。

So we accelerate the pistons with steam,

我们花些时间

that takes a little bit of time,

使用蒸汽来加速活塞，

but then, bang! you hit the piston,

然后就“砰”的一声，活塞受到撞击，

and, baff!, all the energy is done instantly,

所有能量即刻都有了，

down instantly to the liquid,

金属变为液体

and that compresses the plasma much faster.

并且那可以更快的压缩等离子体。

So I decided, okay, this is good, let's make that.

我便决定制作这样的机器。

So we built this machine in this garage here.

我们便在这个仓库里建造这台机器。

We made a small machine

我们做了一个小的机器，

that we managed to squeeze

我们成功地从中

a little bit of neutrons out of that,

挤出了一点中子，

and those are my marketing neutrons,

那些便是我们的市场营销中子

and with those marketing neutrons,

那些中子

then I raised about 50 million dollars,

帮助我们筹集了 5000 万美元，

and I hired 65 people. That's my team here.

我雇佣了65个人。这是我的团队。

And this is what we want to build.

这就是我们想要建造的。

So it's going to be a big machine,

这将是一台巨大的机器，

about three meters in diameter,

直径三米，

liquid lead spinning around,

液态铅在周围旋转，

big vortex in the center,

巨大的漩涡位于中间，

put the plasma on the top and on the bottom,

将等离子体置于顶部和底部，

piston hits on the side,

活塞从周围向内压缩，

bang!, it compresses it,

嗙！活塞压缩等离子体，

and it will make some energy,

会产生一些能量，

and the neutron will come out in the liquid metal,

中子便从液态金属中出来，

going to go in a steam engine and make the turbine,

进入蒸汽引擎带动涡轮

and some of the steam will go back

一些蒸汽便会回来

to fire the piston.

再次弹射出活塞。

We're going to run that about one time per second,

我们让它一秒钟运行一次，

and it will produce 100 megawatts of electricity.

便可以得到100兆瓦的电力。

Okay, we also built this injector,

我们还造了这个注射器，

so this injector makes the plasma to start with.

这个注射器会让等离子准备继续，

It makes the plasma at about

让等离子体达到

a lukewarm temperature of three million degrees C.

微温的300万摄氏度。

Unfortunately, it doesn't last quite long enough,

不幸的是，它并不能坚持足够长时间，

so we need to extend the life of the plasma a little bit,

我们的延长等离子存在的时间，

but last month it got a lot better,

上个月我们有所进展，

so I think we have the plasma compressing now.

我想我们已经有了等离子体压缩器了。

Then we built a small sphere, about this big,

然后我们建造了一个小球体，大概这么大，

14 pistons around it,

周围有 14 个活塞，

and this will compress the liquid.

活塞将会压缩液体。

However, plasma is difficult to compress.

但是压缩等离子体并不简单。

When you compress it,

当你压缩它时，

it tends to go a little bit crooked like that,

它往往会像这样歪斜，

so you need the timing of the piston

所以你需要准确的

to be very good,

控制好活塞的时间，

and for that we use several control systems,

我们用了几个控制系统

which was not possible in 1970,

来解决这个在1970年不能解决的问题，

but we now can do that

但是我们现在可以用

with nice, new electronics.

新的，好的电子设备解决此问题。

So finally, most people think that fusion

最后要说的，很多人认为核聚变

is in the future and will never happen,

是我们的未来但永不会发生，

but as a matter of fact, fusion is getting very close.

但事实上，核聚变就要成为现实了。

We are almost there.

我们快要成功了。

The big labs have shown that fusion is doable,

大型的实验证明了核聚变的可行性,

and now there are small companies that are thinking about that,

现在有些小公司都在想这个问题

and they say, it's not that it cannot be done,

他们说，核聚变不是不可行的，

but it's how to make it cost-effectively.

问题在于怎么让其经济高效。

General Fusion is one of those small companies,

通用核聚变是那些小公司之一

and hopefully, very soon, somebody, someone,

未来非常有希望，很快就会有人可以

will crack that nut,

解决这个难题。

and perhaps it will be General Fusion.

并且可能会是通用核聚变公司

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

(掌声)