Shrimp and nuclear fusion
Written by John Teel.
A few days ago, I watched a documentary that completely blew my mind.
It connected two things I’d never expect to be together in the same sentence—nuclear fusion and shrimp.
Yes, a type of shrimp – commonly called a pistol shrimp.
But this little shrimp is anything but ordinary.
It has a unique hunting and defense mechanism that involves creating a bubble of plasma.
Yes, plasma – the 4th state of matter commonly found in stars – where it’s so hot that all the electrons are ripped from their atoms.
When the pistol shrimp snaps its specialized claw, it creates a cavitation bubble that collapses with such force that it generates temperatures close to 5,000°C…
…which is roughly the same temperature as the surface of the sun.
Snap, and for a split second, this tiny gunslinging shrimp creates a miniature star in the ocean.
But here’s where it gets even more fascinating.
This shrimp’s incredible ability inspired scientists working on nuclear fusion reactors.
Fusion, as you may know, is the process that powers the sun, and it’s the holy grail of clean, limitless energy here on Earth.
But achieving nuclear fusion here on Earth is ridiculously difficult to achieve.
The core of the sun, where fusion naturally occurs, reaches temperatures of around 15 million degrees Celsius.
Modern fusion reactors, however, have to go even further—reaching temperatures 10 times hotter than the core of the sun, or around 150 million degrees Celsius!
Why?
Because without the sun’s crushing force of gravity, more extreme heat is needed to fuse atomic nuclei together and release energy.
Scientists realized that mimicking the shrimp’s plasma bubble was a new way to approach fusion.
If two plasma bubbles are fired at each other at high speed, their kinetic energy is converted into additional heat when they collide.
This method could potentially allow for higher fusion temperatures, bringing us closer to sustainable fusion energy.
Evolution, over billions of years, has been the ultimate innovator, refining life through countless small, incremental steps.
The pistol shrimp’s unique ability is a product of evolution, yet it took a fresh perspective—someone looking outside the usual boundaries of physics and engineering—to see its potential for solving one of humanity’s greatest challenges.
It made me reflect on how often we get stuck in our own silos, trying to solve problems with the same tools and perspectives we’ve always used.
But breakthroughs often come from unexpected places.
Whether it’s talking to someone outside your field, exploring nature’s solutions, or simply being open to ideas that seem unrelated at first, inspiration can come from the most surprising sources.
So, the next time you’re stuck on a problem, take a step back, and look beyond your usual frame of reference.
You never know—your next design breakthrough might be hiding in the claw of a shrimp.
If you need a fresh perspective on your project, then my Hardware Academy is the place to get it.
