THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL CONTROL PLANETS 

(Editor's note: This column was written prior to the latest develop ments in "cold fusion". An earlier column "Japan Opts for Fusion" was written in 1985.) In previous columns I have pointed out how the invention of the stirrup allowed man to build kingdoms and how the introduction of the astrolabe enabled man to create empires. Now the technology that will allow man to control planets !

Energy is the one all pervasive force in the universe. Its cost determines how rapidly civilization advances. For most of the industrial age non-renewable petroleum sources were used in everincreasing quantities. Although this provided the energy that drove the Industrial Age (and incidentally increased the wealth of the world 30 times over what it had been during the Agricultural Age), it was that increased quantitive use that brought on the present problems of mass world-wide pollution.

After the end of WWII nuclear fission was developed by the U.S. and today nuclear fission power plants are operating in numerous countries. Although this method has, in general, been extremely safe to date, it has not captured the affection of most of the world's populations. Serious meltdown accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl caused world-wide scares and severe damage to both life and property. The potential threat of nuclear annilation of all living things on the planet has been the main fear of citizens in most countries during the past three decades. For the past 10 years no new nuclear plants have been built in the U.S.A.

Now another piece of nuclear technology is approaching the brink of success - nuclear fusion. It is safer, has radiation that is confined to a small core, no volume of waste, uses sea water instead of plutonium and depending on its production by "hot" or "cold" methods, can produce heat that converts to electricity at a cost much lower than any other energy source, including hydro or solar power.

How much cheaper? A gallon of ordinary sea water would produce the energy equivalent of 600 gallons of high octane gasoline. Two hundred and fifty pounds of hydrogen pellets could convert into the energy equivalent of eleven million barrels of oil! And that's via the present "hot" method being developed by the U.S., the Soviet Union and Japan. It is estimated that more than two billion dollars has already been expended on the research. Another dark horse entry is "cold" fusion. It could be so cheap that it would have negative cost -- producing, once started, pure power by just adding (sea) water. It's an alchemist dream that would change the world more than anything else since people first appeared on the planet.

Regardless of which type of fusion is developed, look for Japan to be the first to put it into commercial operation. Later, perhaps much later, after all Japan's energy needs are met you can expect them to offer a reasonably-priced "coke-machine sized" unit that would provide all the energy required by a medium-sized city, including the recharging of all the cities electric automobiles. Remember, Japan basically has no natural sources of energy except that of their people, hence fusion has been a Japanese national goal since 1984. Their program has unlimited funding and unrestricted access to all their resources.

Naturally, they will sell such a product to their friends first. That might not include countries that place, what they might consider, unfriendly quotas against other Japanese products.

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