Plasma fusion

[Frankie Pancakes]

Lauded theoretical physicist and director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Nuno Loureiro has been murdered at the age of 47.

https://futurism.com/science-energy/...icist-murdered

And this from Stefan Burns and Dana kippel

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=csYyxC...cJCR4Bo7VqN5tD

[Baby Steps]

Hi apologies in advance, but I talked to a Portuguese friend, who mentioned that he had seen an article in SIC (A Portuguese publication) that stated

- Nuno was about to make an announcement of a very significant breakthrough
- Nuno was killed by a schoolmate who had a similar career path to his own, but much less successful

As usual those details are no longer present in the info I was able to find (my friend also cannot find it, but is trustworthy)

To be fair, this often happens. A journalist says more than is appropriate to TPTB, and the Editor does not realise the agenda (until they are told to take the article down)

Here's the current coverage & an AI summary:

Morte do físico Nuno Loureiro foi "um grande choque" para a comunidade do Instituto Superior Técnico - SIC Notícias

🇬🇧 Summary in English


The death of Portuguese physicist Nuno Loureiro caused deep shock within the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), the university where he studied and maintained close ties throughout his career. IST’s president, Rogério Colaço, said the community reacted with shock and consternation, describing Loureiro as both a respected scientist and a cherished colleague.
Both Loureiro and the suspected perpetrator, Cláudio Valente, had studied at IST before pursuing careers in the United States. The revelation that the suspect was also a former IST student surprised and unsettled the institution.
Colaço noted that Loureiro, who held a prominent leadership role at MIT as director of the Plasma and Nuclear Fusion Laboratory, was unlikely to have been planning an immediate return to Portugal.
The article also mentions the decision by the U.S. administration to suspend the visa program used by the Portuguese suspect years earlier. Colaço said the move aligns with recent U.S. policy trends but warned that restrictions on mobility harm the scientific community, which depends on international collaboration and the free exchange of ideas.
The piece concludes with background on both men:
• Loureiro grew up in Viseu and built his academic career at IST before moving to MIT.
• Valente, originally from Torres Novas, moved to the U.S. over 20 years ago to study physics at Brown University.

Can anybody obtain the original coverage via the wayback machine


https://sicnoticias.pt/pais/2025-12-...cnico-dec263aa

[Johnnycomelately]

;FOCUS;

Here is a guided tour through part of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The Ignition Facility, where they are working toward commercial production of electricity by nuclear fusion, using lasers.

Bizarrely complicated and precise engineering. IMO, it must be close to the current engineering high point of microchips for digital electronics.

Dr. Eric Lerner, on the (his?) YT chan LLPFusion, described the handful of different ways that fusion is being persued. This one, different than his team’s, uses X-rays to create a plasma out of small samples of Deuterium and Tritium, and compress that to a state of fusion. Cyclicly. Three years ago they achieved a milestone, more energy out than was put in. Guide says they still have much work to do, but it will happen fo sho within fifty years (running joke about fusion power is that it’s always 30 years away).


Worlds Largest Laser - The Original Star Factory

Scott Manley
1.83M subscribers

Jan 6, 2026

The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is the worlds most powerful laser (also the world's second most powerful laser), it's used for research into fusion physics, able to create tiny nuclear explosions and observe the results in minute detail.
Three years ago it achieved a landmark in inertial confinement fusion, whereby the energy output exceeded the input, and since then they've not just repeated the result but increased the output to more than 10 Megajoules.

Thanks to Patrick Poole for leading this tour and answering my many questions
https://lasers.llnl.gov/

The paper I was given
"First demonstration of improved yield with reduced adiabat in inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility"
https://pubs.aip.org/aip/pop/article/...

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=eUhOOKuhpzA