Label: Interview
Fusion power plants: where do things stand?

Fusion power plants: where do things stand?

DOSSIER «LE GRAND RETOUR DU NUCLEAIRE», Jean-David Ponci | Mastering fusion would make it possible to reproduce the thermonuclear reactions of stars that are not at the end of their lives, where four hydrogen atoms fuse to form one helium atom. This is the physical process that generates the greatest amount of energy. Controlling it to produce electricity would be like putting the sun in a box. But is it really feasible on Earth? If so, when? And would such plants really be less dangerous in the event of an accident than fission power plants? Alessandro Casati, PhD in physics, spent four years working on various nuclear fusion projects: the major international ITER project in France and the Tokamak at EPFL in Switzerland. The specialist now works in finance, but has continued to follow advances in the field out of passion. This is a great advantage, as it enables him to respond impartially and give us his expertise on the future of research.
Switzerland and Ukraine have more in common than you might think

Switzerland and Ukraine have more in common than you might think

DOSSIER «LA SUISSE, DEFINITION», Jean-David Ponci | Eduard Nadtochiy teaches Russian history, culture, literature and philosophy at the Slavic Languages Department of the University of Lausanne. His father is Ukrainian. However, he grew up in Moscow. He then spent two years as a teaching assistant at the University of Kharkov, Ukraine's second-largest city. Unlike Russians and the majority of Ukrainians, he is a member of the Ukrainian Church, which is attached to Rome. He is therefore particularly well qualified to undertake the complex exercise of comparing Switzerland and Ukraine.