Shows
Star DiaryAurora special Ep 2: The science of the auroraThe aurora are set to be at their best in the next few years, but what creates the light show in the first place? Join us as we talk with aurora expert Melanie Windridge in Episode 2 of our Aurora special series of Star Diary podcast, from the makers of Sky at Night Magazine.This podcast is sponsored by Hurtigruten https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-gbTranscriptSign up for Masterclass series on DSLR astrophotography: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/virtual-eventsSubscribe to BBC Sky at Night Magazine and submit your astrophotography images over o...2024-09-3032 min
CFA UKEpisode 71: Funding fusion, and its role in sustainabilityIn this episode, Katriona Baker, Sustainability and Environment Manager at GEO Specialty Chemicals, speaks to Dr Melanie Windridge, founder and CEO of Fusion Energy Insights, to discuss fusion energy and its importance as an investment opportunity.
Covering the fusion’s development history, where it is, and where funding could take it, Katriona and Melanie also discuss the role of AI and computational power in fusion research, along with the breakout technologies that have come from it.
The CFA UK Sustainability Community is buzzing with daily discussions, virtual meet-ups, and in-person gatherings, offering numerous opportunities for you to get involved. Our Co...2024-06-1934 min
The ITER PodcastFusion Stars at ITER's Private Fusion WorkshopThis special 8-minute episode features the Private & Public Fusion Workshop that was held from May 27-29 at ITER. The episode interviews many players in the private & public fusion arena, including Andrew Holland from Fusion Industry Association, Melanie Windridge from Fusion Energy Insights, and Communications Director Laban Coblentz about their thoughts of the workshop, and also offers a sneak peak into Season 3.
Available to listen to on the ITER Website, Spotify, Podbean, Apple, and all your favorite podcast channels!2024-06-0308 min
Insider's Guide to Energy122 - Tackling Decarbonization with Nuclear Fusion TechnologyAre we still always going to be 30 years away, or are we getting closer to reality? A saying normally associated with Nuclear Fusion Technologies, join us as we find answers to this and more with Melanie Windridge, the Founder and CEO of Fusion Energy Insights, a platform that helps people keep up to date with the growing developments in the world of fusion. In this scintillating chat, we learn about the science, the companies and the money being invested into the fusion industry with the hope and ambition that it will play a major role in tackling decarbonization. ...2023-05-1541 min
Kielder Observatory PodcastIn search of the Aurora - Dr Melanie WindridgeThe Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights are widely regarded as a Holy Grail for any sky watchers. For those lucky enough to see a display it's all about the beautiful serene colours lighting up the sky. However what we witnessing is the Earth's magnetic field protecting us from a violent onslaught of energised particles from the Sun, slamming into the planet at 45 million MPH! Dr Melanie Windridge is a physicist, explorer and author of “Aurora: In Search of the Northern Lights” who has travelled the world to witness the Aurora, and tells us about the...2023-02-201h 00
FT Tech TonicClimate tech to save the planet: Star powerNuclear fusion is the reaction that powers stars and scientists say replicating it on Earth could produce all the energy we’ll ever need without the CO2. But no one has yet made a fusion reactor that actually produces more energy than it uses. Fusion researchers say that’s all about to change, and private fusion start-ups say they’re getting close to building working nuclear fusion power stations. In the latest episode of Tech Tonic’s climate tech series, Pilita Clark visits the UK’s pioneering fusion research reactor and speaks to long-time fusion researcher Professor Ian Chapman about the r...2022-11-1524 min
DiscoveryThe puzzle of the plasma doughnutWhat do you get if you smash two hydrogen nuclei together? Helium and lots of energy – it's nuclear fusion!Nuclear fusion is the power source of the sun and the stars. Physicists and engineers here on earth are trying to build reactors than can harness fusion power to provide limitless clean energy. But it’s tricky.Rutherford and Fry are joined by Dr Melanie Windridge, plasma physicist and CEO of Fusion Energy Insights, who explains why the fourth state of matter – plasma – helps get fusion going, and why a Russian doughnut was a key breakthrough on the p...2022-11-1427 min
Curious CasesThe Puzzle of the Plasma DoughnutWhat do you get if you smash two hydrogen nuclei together? Helium and lots of energy. That’s no joke – it's nuclear fusion! Nuclear fusion is the power source of the sun and the stars. Physicists and engineers here on earth are trying to build reactors than can harness fusion power to provide limitless clean energy. But it’s tricky... Rutherford and Fry are joined by Dr Melanie Windridge, plasma physicist and CEO of Fusion Energy Insights, who explains why the fourth state of matter – plasma – helps get fusion going, and why a Russian doughnut was a key...2022-09-2039 min
The Green Alliance PodcastNuclear fusion: is this the future of low carbon energy? ('Insights' Series 5 - episode 4)Unlike nuclear fission, which has been part of our energy mix for decades, we’re on the cusp of a nuclear fusion breakthrough. Nuclear fusion is the same energy process that powers the stars, and could lead to boundless energy capacity in the future. In this fascinating chat between Green Alliance senior policy adviser Helena Bennett and Melanie Windridge, we learn about how fusion works and how in the years ahead it could become commercially viable for the first time. Melanie is a specialist in fusion energy and founder of Fusion Energy Insights, as well as the author of Au...2022-02-2318 min
EE Times CurrentThe Fuss About FusionOn the Weekly Briefing podcast: In the last five years, the number of commercial companies looking to exploit nuclear fusion has doubled and investments in those companies have skyrocketed. Why now, after decades of minimal progress? Our guest is Melanie Windridge, plasma physicist and the author of a recent report that surveys the fusion industry.2021-12-1045 min
Startup MicrodoseDr.Melanie Windridge | Nuclears Bright FutureFounder of Fusion Energy Insights and head of communications for Tokamak Energy takes us on a riveting journey through the world of Nuclear Fusion.
From ITER (the gigantic international fusion collaboration) to private companies searching for this holy grail it appears the next decade might be rather a big one.
Fusion offers an exciting and sustainable future that rests on one crucial element - net positive energy output. This episode tells us how we might get there.2021-09-211h 07
Fusion NewsFusion News Summer Special!This week we have a summer special for you!
Some of our presenters here chare their favourite stories from the year gone by. From virtual plasma physics experiments to spreading heat out on the divertor, the presenters share their best bits!
Hear from Erica Salazar, Cyd Cowley, Hazel Lowe, Leigh Ann Kesler and Melanie Windridge as they tell us what their favourite stories have been from the past year, and why
Music from Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/walz/library
License code: SDSXIMJCRPQVXKAQ2021-08-0607 min
Fusion FocusedS1 E1: Dr Melanie WindridgeIn this episode of Fusion Focused, Ella Fox-Widdows is joined by Dr Melanie Windridge, the Communications Consultant for Tokamak Energy, UK Director of the Fusion Industry Association, and founder of Fusion Energy Insights. Listen here to their discussion about Melanie's PhD research into plasma stability, how Melanie got involved with science communication, her adventures in the arctic, the importance of getting more women involved in fusion and Melanie’s new venture Fusion Energy Insights.
Connect with Fusion Focused on Instagram & Twitter, @fusionfocused
Music from Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/pryces/music-is
Li...2021-07-261h 16Fusion NewsPlasma exhaust breakthrough, China’s new record, UK regulatory support for fusion innovationA summary of recent fusion energy news stories presented by Dr Melanie Windridge, UK Director of the Fusion Industry Association, Communications Consultant at Tokamak Energy and Founder of Fusion Energy Insights. Links to all the articles mentioned are below for further reading.
Fusion news stories discussed:
1. Fusion breakthrough brings scientists a step closer to limitless clean energy
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fusion-breakthrough-brings-scientists-a-step-closer-to-limitless-clean-energy-tjq66sxqg
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a36559078/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-uk-reactor-experiment/
2. Chinese ‘artificial sun’ hits new mark in fusion energy mission
https://www.scmp.com/news...2021-06-1107 min
Meet Star GazersChasing the Aurora with Dr. Melanie WindridgeThe northern lights, also known as aurorae, are an awe inspiring phenomenon at the confluence of science and nature. In this episode, Dr. Melanie Windridge, an exemplary plasma physicist, shares precious insights on chasing the aurora. Time Stamps :06:33 : What does aurora borealis mean ?08:04 : What causes the aurora borealis ?16:03 : Can you see the northern lights with the naked eye ?17:33 : What colour are the northern lights ?22:15 : What is the best time to see aurora borealis ?24:18 : How often do auroras appear ? Do the northern lights happen every night ?28:55 : How long do the northern lights last ?35:03 : Can aurora b...2021-05-181h 02
FlashpointThe Future of Fusion Energy with Melanie WindridgeHost Andrew Holland and Fusion Industry Association’s Melanie Windridge discuss how the fusion energy sector has changed in the last decade and the balance between public labs and private companies.
Host
Andrew HollandFollow @theandyholland
This Week’s Guest
Melanie Windridge Follow @m_windridge
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Melanie’s books
Fusion Industry Assocation Website
Produced by Annie Aleman
The post The Future of Fusion Energy with Melanie Windridge appeared first on American Security...2021-02-0427 min
Further. Faster. PodcastFurther. Faster. Podcast - Ep.11 (Science at Extremes with Dr Melanie Windridge)Dr Melanie Windridge describes herself as a speaker and writer… with a taste for adventure. She's also a plasma physicist working in fusion energy. She's also a healthy obsession with the Northern Lights, leading to her to write the groundbreaking book, Aurora: In Search of the Northern Lights. Melanie also has a blog called Science at Extremes which led from her successful Everest expedition where she took a distinctly scientific look at climbing the mountain. In this wide-reaching conversation, we spend time discussing the importance of science on expeditions to high altitude and in turn, what we can...2019-02-2637 min
Physics World Stories PodcastPhysics World 30th anniversary podcast series – fusion energy
Physics World has recently turned 30 and we are celebrating with a 5-part series podcast series exploring key areas of physics. This third episode in the series explores the prospects for fusion energy – a carbon-free form of energy generation that may finally be on the cusp of becoming practical.
For the past few decades, the running joke has been that despite the excitement, fusion energy is “always 30 years away.” In the January episode of Physics World Stories, Andrew Glester meets fusion researchers at the UK company Tokamak Energy to learn about the practical challenges and the technology that could make...2019-01-2248 min
Inspiring Sustainability - Podcast#030: Science fiction to renewable reality: nuclear fusion energy - Dr Melanie Windridge of Tokamak EnergyFusing the energy of the sun and start-ups is the topic of this podcast, where we find out how Tokamak Energy is planning to recreate the power of the sun... on a business park in Oxfordshire, and thus deliver almost limitless renewable energy.Physicist and communications consultant at Tokamak Energy, and polar explorer and conqueror of Everest, Dr Melanie Windridge, explains how nuclear fusion is not science fiction, but an energy source that will be clean, green and safe.Fusion energy has famously always been 30 years away from commercial utilisation, starting from the first international...2018-10-0943 minInspiring Sustainability - Podcast#030: Science fiction to renewable reality: nuclear fusion energy - Dr Melanie Windridge of Tokamak EnergyFusing the energy of the sun and start-ups is the topic of this podcast, where we find out how Tokamak Energy is planning to recreate the power of the sun... on a business park in Oxfordshire, and thus deliver almost limitless renewable energy.Physicist and communications consultant at Tokamak Energy, and polar explorer and conqueror of Everest, Dr Melanie Windridge, explains how nuclear fusion is not science fiction, but an energy source that will be clean, green and safe.Fusion energy has famously always been 30 years away from commercial utilisation, starting from the first international...2018-10-0943 min
CrowdScienceHow Do Magnets Work?This deceptively simple question from listeners Andy, Mike and James is actually one of the hardest questions CrowdScience has ever tackled. Why? Because even scientists struggle to explain the true nature of the magnetic force and to do so in a way that even presenter Marnie Chesterton can understand is a serious challenge. What is a magnet? And just what is going on when magnets exert a force?With the help of Melanie Windridge, Sean Giblin, Steve Bramwell, Charlotte New and Peter Morris we attempt to navigate the oddities of one of the most fundamental phenomena in...2018-07-2034 min
BrainwavesThe Northern LightsEveryone will remember the first time they saw the Northern Lights dance across the night sky. For some it will have been a deeply moving moment, for others, time to capture a photograph. For cultures and communities going back 100's of years the aurora borealis have meant many different things, from the spirits of the dead being whisked away to the omens of the Gods.
Whatever your belief, it is impossible to not look at this mythical dance of colours in the night sky as anything other than beautiful. Plasma scientist, Dr Melanie Windridge has devoted herself to understanding the...2017-02-2128 min
Stanfords Travel PodcastMelanie Windridge, In Search of the Northern Lights // Stanfords Travel Writers FestivalDo we really understand the northern lights? Speaking about her new book and describing Arctic journeys culminating in a spectacular solar eclipse, Melanie Windridge brings together space, place and science in style. With Julia Wheeler.2017-02-0545 min
ElementsHydrogen (H) - fusionCould we finally be about to crack this source of potentially unlimited clean energy - thanks in part to a plethora of private sector tech startups? Laurence Knight travels to one such company, Tokamak Energy in the UK, to hear from plasma physicist Melanie Windridge. Meanwhile the BBC's David Willis reports on the string of secretive new fusion initiatives along the Pacific Coast, and the Silicon Valley money backing them.Plus, could fusion energy open the way to the economic abundance and space travel portrayed in Star Trek? Laurence speaks to Trekonomics author Manu Saadia. 2016-05-3130 min