Levitating Magnet Coaxes Nuclear Fusion

[jayfish]

Source: MSNBC

Physicists may be one step closer to achieving a form of clean energy known as nuclear fusion, which is what happens deep inside the cores of stars.

A recent experiment with a giant levitating magnet was able to coax matter in the lab to extremely high densities — a necessary step for nuclear fusion.

When the density is high enough, atomic nuclei — the protons and neutrons of atoms — literally fuse together, creating a heavier element. And if the conditions are right that fusion can release loads of energy.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

Depending on the mass of this element, energy could be created by fusion without any greenhouse gas emissions. So it could present a tantalizing clean power source, if scientists could achieve it.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35126008/ns/technology_and_science-science/

---

I wondered when they would get around to using a technique such as this. One of the first and most difficult challenges of fusion is keeping the plasma contained while not allowing it to touch anything. The levitating magnet helps tremendously with the no touching part.

Jay

EDITORIAL EDIT

[AngryAmish]

1. It will never work

New technique, blah, blah, blah

They have been saying this crap since the 60s.

[jayfish]

2. Really?

40 years isn't really that long to figure out how to mimic a star.

Jay

[truthisfreedom]

4. Fusion obviously exists.

We've achieved just about everything we've set out to do, eventually.

[AngryAmish]

6. Actually, we do have a fully functional fusion device

It is called a thermonuclear weapon. Works very well. Yet we don't have too many uses for this device other than killing lots of people.

[Xithras]

15. Actually, that's a fission device.

Different process entirely.

That said, we HAVE achieved fusion in labs before, and there's nothing terribly complex about it from a scientists perspective. The hard part is getting more energy OUT of the reaction than it took to create it.

[jayfish]

17. That's Mainly Because The Burn Lengths Have Been So Short.

E.A.S.T is shooting for a world record burn of 1000 seconds. That's hardly enough time to get out the amount of energy it took to achieve ignition. Hopefully, once we have sustainable reactions, we can quickly outstrip the initial energy expenditure.

Jay

[Igel]

18. It's triggered by a fission device.

But a thermonuclear weapon relies on fusion for the really big boom. "H-bomb".

[Fumesucker]

20. No, thermonuclear weapons are fusion, not fission..

Or at least the great majority of the energy is produced by fusion..

[DLnyc]

21. Actually, no

A thermonuclear device uses fission to compress hydrogen, which then undergoes fusion to release large quantities of (highly destructive) energy.

[Occulus]

22. Dr. Bussard had a credible idea

the lab researching it has Navy funding. The thing is, his idea- internal electrostatic containment- actually might do the trick, too.

We know fusion is possible. There's a great big ball in the sky screaming at us, "do it like THIS, you idiot fucks! Now figure it out on Earth!"

The trick is in the engineering. That's the part we haven't figured out yet.

I wonder if that article I posted on- what were they called? Superatoms?- is relevant to making fusion on Earth possible....

[krispos42]

26. The polywell fusion chamber.

They're still working on it, fortunately.

[leveymg]

3. Takes a tremendous amount of energy to create that powerful an electromagnetic field

When they release more energy in a controlled fashion than used to create the fusion event, then they'll really have something.

Until then, just another expensive science experiment.

[Occulus]

23. Breakeven is the Holy Grail

Do it and it's game over for the oil era. We can then proceed to phase out oil as a fuel source.

Such a prospect has the House of Saud terrified, of course, and for very good reason so far as they're concerned.

[xchrom]

5. I really wish they wouldn't do this.

Well -- maybe in Florida.

[MicaelS]

7. Why not? n/t

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[loudsue]

9. Ok. How do you levitate a magnet?

One thing Obama is doing that I really do like is that he is funding more scientific experimentation and education. It's about time!!

[jayfish]

11. Advanced Superconductors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXX542wDJC0

Jay

[Gregorian]

10. Fusion has the greatest potential for any energy conversion system to solve our needs.

And containment has been the tough problem. I know the head mechanical engineer who was at Lawrence Livermore's fusion project. He said they were not far from a solution when the funding was cut. And I think it was Bush who cut it, but don't hold me to that. It doesn't matter who cut it.

I can't wait for this to come to fruition.

[randr]

13. Any discussion of the future of Nuclear energy

needs to consider energy from Thorium. The link of uranium use and the military is of special interest.
Check out: http://thoriumenergy.blogspot.com/

[Gregorian]

19. It looks like India is about to have a working prototype in a year.

But I don't understand the benefit in terms of waste. According to Wiki, the thorium fuel cycle creates Uranium-233.

It has to be better than wars, refining black gold, and transporting, transporting, transporting, transporting it all over the planet to our tanks.

I'm not big on nuclear, but we've got to start waking up out of our death spiral. It's really too late. And the real problem isn't energy. It's population. But that's not going to change fast enough.

[scubadude]

24. Here's a link to an explanation of the 233.

Basically it is the catalyst in the reactor, and doesn't accumulate.

http://thenorthcoast.blogspot.com/2010/01/save-uranium-233.html

scuba

[Gregorian]

25. That's really impressive. What's the reason we aren't using this process?

Now I have to ask either what is wrong with the process that has kept if out of practice, or what other reason.

Thanks for this information. Now I also have to do some research in order to find out more. I'm skeptical. If something is too good to be true, it usually is.


edit- I'll take a guess with energy density.

[scubadude]

27. As I remember it there were 2 main scientists in charge of nuclear...

research early on, Enrico Fermi, and Alvin Weinberg. Fermi died in the early 50's thanks to stomach cancer (many feel this was a result of nuclear exposure). He was the main proponent of the systems we use today. Weinberg ran Oak Ridge National Laboratory later on.

Admiral Rickover was in charge of selecting which technology to research during the Nixon years, and for it's military applications he chose the uranium based system we have today over Weinberg's favored system, the thorium based system. He eventually firing Weinberg from his post at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They had been running a Thorium based reactor there for some time.

Scuba

[Gregorian]

28. That's part of the story.

It's odd that I should happen to be listening to the radio when an interview regarding nuclear power generation came on. In light of carbon dioxide concentration increases, nuclear is being scrutinized more carefully as an alternative source. I am now beginning to open my mind. It's not like there is just one form of nuclear power generation process.

Now I have to do some work to discover the other reasons why Thorium reactors are not as prevalent as Uranium. It's similar to the AC versus DC fight. In fact there are places in the country that have DC transmission lines.

Thanks for the info.

[jayfish]

16. Can You Imagine What LLL Could Have Done With TARP Type Funding....

Or even War On Terra\ Iraq\ Afghanistan money? Boggles the mind how mired we are.

Jay

[kenfrequed]

12. Right... but what will we do with it?

Well.. use it to heat water to turn a turbine to generate electricity of course.

[Beavker]

14. As long as it's clean

We need new ideas. Friggin Star Trek shit. Let's get it going. Maybe we could ADVANCE our technology again before the rest of the World leaves the U.S. behind because some Fat, Rich, Old, White Republicans have gotten rich off of outdated filthy sources of energy!