One of the most interesting things for me about this presentation was that we learned a lot about how theoretical particle physics has driven significant changes and breakthroughs in technology. The field itself may sometimes lack practical application, but the mathematics and technology developed have changed the world in big ways. For example: HTML.
After that I went to London's Chinatown:
The tubes are just great.
When I got back to the College I attended a lecture on nuclear fusion, specifically this machine. It's the proposed structure for a new Tokamak and I must say, some of the parameters are very impressive. It's (hopeful) start-up time is 2025, and the man who gave the presentation is fully convinced that it will work (as if he'd say otherwise). I'm actually pretty pumped about this stuff. I have to look into learning some plasma physics... he made it clear that there's lots of work to be done in fields related to fusion reactors.
What I really liked about the fusion presentation was that the lecturer was also very enthusiastic about other fusion projects that are not his own; he wants fusion to be realized, he doesn't care if he's the one to do it.
The design of the magnetic cage plays a critical role in the effectiveness of the plasma to generate fusion.
Fun fact (according to this guy): There's enough deuterium and lithium on the planet to fuel enough fusion reactors to power the world for 30 million years (tritium is made in the reactor by neutron collisions with Lithium-6), assuming only about a 3-4 factor growth in our energy consumption, based on current trends.
Wow!
