Fusion Finally Achieved?

[SirPhilip]

Well, this is an interesting development. With all the political and cultural instability in the world, at least the space race might be on sooner!

 

[DRBUZZ0]

Fusion is easy. You could build a fusion reactor for under a grand with second hand parts (yes it has been done).

The problem is making a fusion system that actually outputs more energy than it requires to operate. As long as that remains out of reach, the uses for a fusion reactor will be limited.

-Steve

 

[kedo1981]

PleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePlease
Let it be true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dark Jaguar]

Hot fusion is something I can buy. I can also see hot fusion actually requiring less energy than it outputs. I have good reason to doubt any sort of cold fusion, that is, a "naturally occuring" fusion that is a nice little chain reaction occuring all by itself.

They used the word "crystal", but then they go on to point out that these are crystals being used in what I understand to be a physically possible way.

I still have my doubts, hovering somewhere between "does it work?" and "does it actually output more than it recieves as input?", but it sure would be "neato".

 

[Hindmost]

The device described is not cold fusion. It is just a portable particle accelerator that smashes deuterium together at high speed. The crystals appear to supply a strong electrical field to accelerate the deuterium atoms into each other--it has to be moving very fast. When a deuterium atom fuses with another deuterium atom it will produce helium and a neutron in about half the the total reactions. As a result, this device could be used as a neutron generator. Neutrons can be used in many applications.

However, this device will not produce more power out than required on the input. Since the fusion reaction has a low probability, the energy efficiency of the instrument would be very low.

glenn

 

[Kopji]

Rather, the most immediate application may come in the form of a battery-operated, portable neutron generator. Such a device could be used to detect explosives or to scan luggage at airports, and it could also be an important tool for a wide range of laboratory experiments.

Can I presume that a portable battery powered neutron ray generator that did not require cryogenic cooling would also make a handy weapon?

 

[Hindmost]

Can I presume that a portable battery powered neutron ray generator that did not require cryogenic cooling would also make a handy weapon?

Enough neutrons can be quite deadly, but I don't believe this machine would produce that many to make it useful as a hand held weapon...it would take alot of energy and the neutrons would be difficult to direct at a target. The target would have to be hit for a long period of time making it ineffective.

Bombard just about anything with neutrons and it will become radioactive. Analysis of the resulting radioactivity could sense if a bomb is around. Neutrons are great at killing well defined tumors too--not much damage to surrounding tissue.

glenn

 

[Kopji]

Enough neutrons can be quite deadly, but I don't believe this machine would produce that many to make it useful as a hand held weapon...it would take alot of energy and the neutrons would be difficult to direct at a target. The target would have to be hit for a long period of time making it ineffective.

Bombard just about anything with neutrons and it will become radioactive. Analysis of the resulting radioactivity could sense if a bomb is around. Neutrons are great at killing well defined tumors too--not much damage to surrounding tissue.

glenn

Thanks.
I can see where the medical implications of the technology could be very useful.

 

[jj]

Fusion is easy. You could build a fusion reactor for under a grand with second hand parts (yes it has been done).

The problem is making a fusion system that actually outputs more energy than it requires to operate. As long as that remains out of reach, the uses for a fusion reactor will be limited.

-Steve

Here's your answer in a nutshell, folks.

 

[Belz...]

The device described is not cold fusion. It is just a portable particle accelerator that smashes deuterium together at high speed. The crystals appear to supply a strong electrical field to accelerate the deuterium atoms into each other--it has to be moving very fast. When a deuterium atom fuses with another deuterium atom it will produce helium and a neutron in about half the the total reactions. As a result, this device could be used as a neutron generator. Neutrons can be used in many applications.

However, this device will not produce more power out than required on the input. Since the fusion reaction has a low probability, the energy efficiency of the instrument would be very low.

glenn

That's basically how I understood it.

James Randi Educational Foundation Indeed. I keep learning things every day, over here.

 

[AK-Dave]

Fusion is easy. You could build a fusion reactor for under a grand with second hand parts (yes it has been done).

The problem is making a fusion system that actually outputs more energy than it requires to operate. As long as that remains out of reach, the uses for a fusion reactor will be limited.

-Steve

There are many fusion reactors in existence that produce much more energy than is required to operate. The problem is that they all produce much more energy than can be can be used during the normal operating lifespan of the reactor (which is quite short for this type of reactor), and you are left with the problem of what to do with the excess energy. So far, the military are the only ones who have found a use for these reactors, and while they have several thousand in inventory, they have not operated any in recent years. In the past, they have mostly used these for large-scale energy production on remote pacific islands. The bikini swimsuit was named in honor of one of the islands where this type of reactor was briefly operated.

-David

 

[Ziggurat]

Can I presume that a portable battery powered neutron ray generator that did not require cryogenic cooling would also make a handy weapon?

Not really. Any beam you could conceivably generate with something portable (in other words, shielding to protect yourself didn't consist of meters of concrete) wouldn't transfer much energy to a target. You can kill someone with high doses of neutron radiation, but their death is going to be very slow (due to the eventual breakdown of biological processes from DNA damage), which is exactly what you don't want in a weapon where you're going to be in range of them shooting back at you.