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Giant Laser Transmutes Nuclear Waste

Posted by timothy on from the two-steps-back dept.

paulnuyu writes "NewScientist is reporting that scientists have transmuted nuclear waste with the Vulcan Glass Laser, cutting iodine-129's half-life from 15.7 million years down to just 25 minutes (as iodine-128). The advance is remarkable, but not practical: the laser would need power from a number of power plants to transmute the waste produced from just one nuclear plant."

3 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Yikes... by Bob+Vila's+Hammer · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Vulcan laser can produce short pulses of enormous power - a million billion watts. Pulses were fired at a small lump of gold, which produced enough gamma radiation to knock out single neutrons from iodine-129, converting it to iodine-128. The results of the experiment will be published by the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics.

    As if needing the power of several plants to operate wasn't expensive enough, they fire the laser at a lump of gold? Is this a new Austin Powers movie in the making?

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    --"The perfect example of the man of action is the suicide." - William Carlos Williams
  2. The conversation went like this by L.+VeGas · · Score: 4, Funny

    Kirk: Spock, I know! We'll use your glass laser to destroy our radiocative trash!

    Spock: Captain, that is .... illogical.

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  3. from the truth in article titles department... by Tumbleweed · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Giant Waste of Electricity Transmutes Grant Money into Laser"

    w00t!

    I bet _that's_ a fun lab to play in. Just don't hook up the controls to the MCP, boys.

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