Sunday, August 08, 2004
Controlled nuclear fusion is said to be one of the most difficult scientific and engineering feats ever attempted. Despite the promises of a clean and unlimited energy supply, researchers still do not have a design for a commercially viable fusion reactor, after half a century of hard work .
And I think I understand why; there is no hard work being done.
At the lab, I see that many of the workers come in rather late in the morning, check their email, and treat themselves to a leisurely lunch. After lunch, there is usually some form of intramural sports game to go to: soccer on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and volleyball on the more temperate days. As for me, I am working less than half of the time I spend at PPPL. Though I work energetically when my advisor actually shows up to the lab and gives me some direction to my research, he has been out of town for almost exactly half of the summer, and in particular has been a rare sight at the lab for the past two weeks.
It's a good thing that other countries are much more committed to fusion energy, though I suppose I'm only giving other labs around the world the benefit of the doubt, since I haven't interned there yet.
So, I've been rather bored lately, with nothing much better to do than get caught up on reading Znet and writing letters. And I'm starting to get an uneasy feeling in my stomach, as another semester of college rapidly approaches.
And I think I understand why; there is no hard work being done.
At the lab, I see that many of the workers come in rather late in the morning, check their email, and treat themselves to a leisurely lunch. After lunch, there is usually some form of intramural sports game to go to: soccer on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and volleyball on the more temperate days. As for me, I am working less than half of the time I spend at PPPL. Though I work energetically when my advisor actually shows up to the lab and gives me some direction to my research, he has been out of town for almost exactly half of the summer, and in particular has been a rare sight at the lab for the past two weeks.
It's a good thing that other countries are much more committed to fusion energy, though I suppose I'm only giving other labs around the world the benefit of the doubt, since I haven't interned there yet.
So, I've been rather bored lately, with nothing much better to do than get caught up on reading Znet and writing letters. And I'm starting to get an uneasy feeling in my stomach, as another semester of college rapidly approaches.
