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Room-Temperature, Small-Scale Fusion at UCLA
gnuman99 writes "A UCLA collaboration (Seth Putterman, Brian Naranjo and Jim Gimzewski) appear to have developed a fusion device powered by a pyroelectric crystal, a type of crystal used in cell phones to filter signals. When heated, such a crystal produces a large electric charge on its surface. The UCLA researchers placed a lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) pyroelectric crystal so that one side touches a copper disc. A tiny tungsten probe is then placed at the center of the copper disc. When the crystal is subsequently heated, a very large large electric field is produced at the end of the tugsten tip, ~25 billion volts per meter. This field gradient is so high that it strips the electrons from nearby deuterium atoms. The ionized deuterium atoms then accelerated by this field towards a solid target of erbium deuteride (ErD2). They collide with it at such high energies that some fuse with the target. A measurement of almost 900 neutrons per second was observed. This is 400 times the background! Although the amount of energy produced in this initial experiment was miniscule (~1E-8 jules), this technology could be used for things like microthrusters. There are pictures and movies on the UCLA's physics site." Reader richmlpdx adds a link to coverage at MSNBC.
Goes to show that sci fi is sci fact.
They should have been useing DI-lithium crystals. Stupid UCLA.
Old and busted: Mini fuel cell power
New hotness: Mini fusion reactor power
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Next week they will place that bad boy on a flux capacitor.
crap
eh, too bad it cant stop a 26 billion hits per nanosecond... oh wait, this is slashdot.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
Finally! That was the last missing part for my doomsday machine. Thank you guys...
-- This SIG was never meant to be.
How can you possibly expect to get useful fusion reactions using a monolithium crystal?
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. - Mark Twain
"Although the amount of energy produced in this initial experiment was miniscule (~1E-8 jules), this technology could be used for things like microthrusters." ----------------- So, to get a good amount of energy, you'd need a beowulf cluster of these?
gnuman99 writes "A UCLA collaboration (Seth Putterman, Brian Naranjo and Jim Gimzewski) appear to have developed a fusion device powered by a Pentium, a type of silicon chip used in personal computers to generate heat. When charge is applied, such a chip produces a large thermal gradient on its surface. The UCLA researchers placed a Pentium-based webserver so that one side touched a website called Slashdot. A tiny CAT-5 cable is then connected to the internet. When the website about fusion is visited by thousands of geeks at once, a very large large load is produced on the server, ~25 billion hits per hour. This traffic volume is so high that it strips the heavier "one" bits in the packets from the "zeroes". The ionized packets are then accelerated by this field towards the central processing unit (CPU). They collide with it at such high energies that some fuse with the target. A measurement of almost 900 Kelvin was taken by an observer. This is way higher than the background! Although the amount of energy produced in this initial experiment was miniscule (~1E-8 jules), this technology could be used on things like Microsoft's website. There are pictures and movies on the UCLA's physics site contributing to the problem." Reader richmlpdx adds a link to coverage at MSNBC, in hopes that he can slashdot them too.
don't they already developed this technology ?
but could someone put that through a babelfish and tell me what this guy said?
Before someone else points it out:
How did I possibly manage to spell "accelerator" three different ways in the same post?
Holy Crap, no matter how much of a nerd you are you realize there are always bigger ones. Dude ions and erbin-somethin's collide and holy cow they make 900 other-sumpthins that's like 400 times the back-doo-dad!
That whole article could have been written in Esperanto for as much as I could get from it and I have a solid background in Compsci, EE, and sci.
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
Exactly. A single bit of technical data is unacceptable. At least they could have converted the units into something inteligible like library-of-congress-equivalent neutrons per football field.
You can't get a Delorean up to 88 miles an hour on electric motors that would fit in a Delorean circa 1985!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Could that have been prevented by room temperature, small scale fusion?
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Talent?
On a slightly more serious note, not just any particle accelerator. A neutron accelerator. With a very simple input (heat), if this kicks out a high enough neutron flux density you could have a cheap-n-compact high-yield neutron source for all kinds of kind and nefarious purposes.
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Only if it's a room full of boiling water.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
I think that's what he meant.
1 Googleplex of money = the valuation of Google at this time.
D
Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth shattering kaboom!
Another one of those vague summaries with no real information...
no practical appliction for a Farnsworth device
I dunno, I hear he had several doomsday devices.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
Don't screw with the timeline -- they have to get through the monolithium phase on their own!
you're right!
sad, but true: 90% of murders committed in the US are cold fusion related. much fewer are the murders committed for motives such as robbery, revenge, rage, not paying back your bookie, or randomly.
in fact the only explanation for current murder statistics is the success of cold fusion.
--Professor Hubert J Farnsworth (Futurama)
A tiny tungsten probe is then placed at the center of the copper disc. When the crystal is subsequently heated, a very large large electric field is produced at the end of the tugsten tip, ~25 billion volts per meter.
I can't wait until they come out with a very large large large electric field
This reaction is known to cause cancer in the State of California.
We're one step closer to Mr Fusion -- now all we need is the time-travelling DeLorean....
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman