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Yes, according to them, in just a few short years turning on your PC will be a luxury that can be enjoyed only occasionally and we'll be facing energy shortages that will make the oil shock of the 1970s look like a tiny blip.

Of course it's just possible that Meridian is simply ramping up the spin to try and help it get approval for Project Aqua -- an new hydro scheme that will help it further feather its nest with our money.

In past columns I've discussed the options for additional electricity generation here in NZ -- suggesting that tidal power, wind power and even nuclear power might be viable alternatives.

But now it seems that an exciting old favourite has raised its head again.

I refer of course to nuclear fusion.

Fusion has been the holy grail of energy researchers for some years now and every now and then they revisit an extremely interesting phenomenon known as sonoluminescence.

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Sonoluminescence is intriguing because, to date, there's been no formal proof as to exactly what it is.

Scientists seem divided as to whether it is produced by a fusion reaction, some claiming it can't be because there's no indication that neutrons are being released -- others claiming that the neutrons are there but we just haven't detected them yet.

So why would a fusion generator be so much better than existing nuclear reactors?

As I understand it (I am not a nuclear physicist so I could be wrong) there are two main reasons:

Firstly, fusion is a whole lot safer than fission. If something goes wrong with a fission (conventional) nuclear reactor the results could be a melt-down such as the one we saw at Chernobyl. If a fusion reactor fails then it will simply stop reacting and at worst we'll get some hydrogen, helium or deuterium leaked into the atmosphere (these are all innocuous substances).

Fission reactors also have a rather noxious waste consisting of heavy metals such as isotopes of uranium which are still very radioactive. The waste product generated by a fusion reactor is mainly helium -- an inert gas which is lighter than air and could be either safely vented to the atmosphere or put to use in any number of industrial applications.

Secondly, the fuel for fusion reactor is good old fashioned hydrogen -- perhaps sometimes in the form of deuterium. This is safe, non-radioactive and readily available.

Fusion reactors do create some radioactive waste -- but this is very small and occurs mainly because the walls of the containment vessel will become irradiated over time. The only time it becomes necessary to dispose of this material is when a reactor is decommissioned.

So why do scientists keep revisiting sonoluminescence?

Because it's so very easy to produce.

A simple spherical flask, a couple of piezo transducers, an audio amplifier and a variable frequency oscillator are all that's required. This is the stuff of high-school science rather than the hugely expensive and complex science surrounding mainstream fusion research.

I guess the other reason is that science finds the unexplained to be a challenge -- and there's still plenty of mystery surrounding the exact chemistry or physics that cause that bright pin-point of light that sonoluminescence produces.

In the meantime however, it looks as if our electricity bills will continue to soar, power cuts will become an increasingly common event and we'll have to decide whether to sacrifice another piece of our beautiful country in return for more hydro-energy.

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