“Give me an Atom and I will move the world” Technology for our future

As human population increases the demand for safe and CO2-free energy increases. One such possible energy source is fusion power that has much less radioactive waste than the current commercial fission process while having higher energy density and abundant fuel supply. However, harnessing fusion power for electricity production has proven to be a truly difficult case and we still do not have a viable commercial reactor. This has led to emergence of private initiatives seeking the fusion future.We will look at the principles of fusion power, governmental initiatives and alternative approaches.

Vacuum is just an absolute nothingness, a fixed and immaculate frame of empty space where time holds its breath and stillness dominates, right? Well, you might want to think again, it is quite the contrary! Modern physics predicts that vacuum is a fervent and bubbling region of space, a material in every sense of the word. As any other material, it can be stretched, deformed, and even ripped. In my talk, I will present some of these fascinating predictions and show how state-of-the-art ultra-powerful lasers will help us ripping through vacuum, opening up a new and unexplored realm of physics.