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Article: MOON'S HELIUM HOLDS PROMISE AS FUEL
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- March 2, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1987 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Is it reaching too far to argue that an answer to the world's
future energy needs lies on the moon?
Barren, airless, with no indication that it harbors any coal
or oil or natural gas, the moon does contain quantities of an
isotope of helium, called helium-3, which is very rare on Earth.
And helium-3, physicists say, has potential as a "clean" fuel
for a form of nuclear energy called fusion power, the force that
powers the sun and stars, as well as thermonuclear bombs.
The promise is large enough, says Gerald R. Kulcinski, head of
the Fusion Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin, that
it may be worthwhile to go to the moon to mine this helium, liquefy
it, and bring it back ...