Bubble power [other sources of nuclear energy

Abstract

Research teams from various organizations have joined forces to create the Acoustic Fusion Technology Energy Consortium (AFTEC) to promote the development of sonofusion and its related science and technology. Technically known as acoustic inertial confinement fusion, sonofusion was derived from a related phenomenon, sonoluminescence. Sonofusion involves the application of sound waves to a deuterium-rich liquid to create pressure oscillations that implode tiny bubbles filled with deuterium vapor. The bubbles' violent collapse can cause some of the deuterium nuclei to undergo fusion. Fusion produced no greenhouse gases and, unlike conventional nuclear fission reactors, it produces no noxious radioactive wastes that last for thousands of years. Much more extensive research, however, is required before it is clear whether sonofusion can become a new energy source.