The Star Builders: Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet

Arthur Turrell

Aug 2021 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Arthur Turrell

About this audiobook

From a young, award-winning scientist, a “thoughtful and illuminating” (Nature) look at one of the most compelling and historic turning points of our time—the race to harness the power of the stars and produce controlled fusion, creating a practically unlimited supply of clean energy.

The most important energy-making process in the universe takes place inside stars. The ability to duplicate that process in a lab, once thought impossible, may now be closer than we think. Today, teams of scientists around the world are being assembled by the boldest entrepreneurs, big business, and governments to solve what is the most difficult technological challenge humanity has ever faced: building the equivalent of a star on earth. If their plans to capture star power are successful, they will unlock thousands, potentially millions, of years of clean, carbon-free energy.

Not only would controlled nuclear fusion help solve the climate crisis, it could also make other highly desired technological ambitions possible—like journeying to the stars. Given the rising alarm over deterioration of the environment, and the strides being made in laser and magnetic field technology, powerful momentum is gathering behind fusion and the possibilities it offers.

In The Star Builders, award-winning young plasma physicist Arthur Turrell “offers an optimistic outlook for the future of fusion power and is adamant about the need to invest in it” (The New York Times). Turrell describes fascinating star machines with ten times as many parts as the NASA Space Shuttle, and structures that extend over 400 acres in an accessible and entertaining account, spotlighting the individuals, firms, and institutions racing for the finish line: science-minded entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel, companies like Goldman Sachs and Google, universities like Oxford and MIT, and virtually every rich nation.

It’s an exciting and game-changing international quest that will make all of us winners.

Ratings and reviews

immaculately reaserched, but held back by the subject matter. i.e. nothing of substance exists for fusion power (yet) so nothing but theories and description of grand plans and ideas are found within. Also, the author keeps bringing up bizzare analogies that jar the reader (listener); likening fusion to a pandemic.

About the author

Arthur Turrell has a PhD in plasma physics from Imperial College London and won the Rutherford Prize for the Public Understanding of Plasma Physics. His research and writing have been featured in The Daily Mail, The Guardian, the International Business Times, Gizmodo, and other publications. He works as a Deputy Director at the Data Science Campus of the Office for National Statistics in the UK. He is the author of The Star Builders.