OT: nuclear fusion in the palm of your hand

[Slick]

http://www.aip.org/pnu/2005/split/729-1.html

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Now, if only it could power something...

[Slick]

One step at a time.

[Nodachi]

Once they figure out how to scale it up the results could be amazing! But, like you said Slick, one step at a time.

[NullAshton]

Let's hope that one of those doesn't melt down and destroy New York City or something.

[El_Phil]

Neh it would destroy Tokyo. It's pratically a law!

[NullAshton]

Oh, right, New York City is the target of weather disasters. Paris is always the one hit by a big asteroid, right?

[El_Phil]

Asteroids are unreliable little buggers. They'll strike anywhere. That's why they were kicked out of the natural disasters union. Serves them right.

[Emperor's Child]

So if Nuclear energy (well-weapons) spawns Godzilla for 50 years of sci-fi movies, what will fusion energy spawn, eh? Will we get a new movie monster craze, or will Godzilla go to a fusion reaction? Inquiring minds want to know...

[El_Phil]

I suspect something vauge and derivate in the style of MechaZilla or Mothra.

Sadly as fusion reactors don't detonate and spew radiation everywhere the options are limited.

[General Woundwort]

Let's see... how long was it before "cold fusion" was found to be due to sloppy research and wishful thinking? Any bets as to when this one meets the same fate?

[El_Phil]

Well as this seems to be unpractical and inefficient I'd say it probably happened. Cool something down, then heat it up again and then you get a few hundred neutrons a second. Any commercial reactor needs millions, apparently. Probably happened, but also not vitally important in the scheme of things.

Just wait for the Torus research boys to sort something out, if they ever get round to building it of course.

[Slick]

General Woundwort said:
Let's see... how long was it before "cold fusion" was found to be due to sloppy research and wishful thinking? Any bets as to when this one meets the same fate?



"Cold fusion" claims by Dr. Pons were not able to be reproduced by other scientists who were attempting to validate his theory. They also stretched (some say violated) some known laws of physics. For these reasons the idea was rejected.

This method of fusion is reproducable and relies on well known mechanics. Because of these reasons, I doubt that this method of fusion will have any trouble being accepted as real. Being able to produce usable power safely, cheaply, etc... that has yet to be shown.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

NullAshton said:
Let's hope that one of those doesn't melt down and destroy New York City or something.



Fusion reactors don't meltdown and are unlikely to destroy NYC, or even anything larger than several hundred meters in diameter. First of all, they produce little or no harmful (gamma) radiation, which is produced by fission and which is the sole "component" of a meltdown, and secondly if the magnetic containment fields (I am not making this up) lose cohesion the plasma'll disperse and vanish.