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19 million Amps

Posted by Hemos on from the coursing-thru-their-veins dept.

deblau writes "On July 27, scientists at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Nevada Test Site said they generated a current equal to about four times all the electrical current on Earth. During the few millionths of a second that it operated, the 650-ton Atlas pulsed-power generator discharged about 19 million amps of current through an aluminum cylindrical shell about the size of a tuna can. Official news release is available from the DOE (PDF)."

14 of 457 comments (clear)

  1. Elsewhere in the news: by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 4, Funny


    In operation, the 650-node Slashdot news-for-nerds generator successfully discharged nearly 19 million hits of HTTP requests through the NNSA Nevada Site Office News webpage, or PDF, on a server about the size and shape of a tuna can. The requests caused the server to implode at extreme speeds, with unrivaled symmetry, precision, and reproducibility.

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    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  2. Math by dsginter · · Score: 5, Funny

    I did the math for everyone... it works out to One point twenty one jiga-watts, Marty!

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    More
    1. Re:Math by wowbagger · · Score: 3, Funny

      That would require about 64 volts of potential across the target at the stated current, at a resistance of 3.3 micro-ohms of resistance in the target.

      Given the "few millionths of a second" duration, the total energy would be about a kilo-joule to ten kilo-joules - about the same as the chemical energy in a single gumdrop (there's a new /unit for you!)

      --
      www.eFax.com are spammers
    2. Re:Math by springbox · · Score: 3, Funny

      about the same as the chemical energy in a single gumdrop (there's a new /unit for you!)

      I look forward to the day when the phrase "gumdrops per second" appears in physics text books. I promise to use it every chance I get.

    3. Re:Math by Mercano · · Score: 3, Funny

      I've been using a Tic-Tac as a unit of energy. Just one (kilo)calorie.

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      #include <signature.h>
  3. 19 Million amps!! by Winckle · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now that was how Pink Floyd should have played.

  4. Wouldn't that be... by jav1231 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "about four times all the electrical power on Earth"
    Wouldn't that be all of the OTHER power on Earth? After all, this test was conducted on Earth, making even this discharge a subset of the "all the electrical power on Earth," but I digress. It's really amazing, though, to think this was pulse through a tuna-can sized hunk of aluminum. You'd think it melt. Tuna...melt....I really should stop.

  5. Hmm... by leshert · · Score: 5, Funny

    On July 27, scientists at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Nevada Test Site said they generated a current equal to about four times all the electrical power on Earth.

    Where did they do this experiment--Mars?

  6. 11? by ryanvm · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll bet this amp goes to 11.

    1. Re:11? by adrianbaugh · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nah, they just made 10 louder ;-)

      --
      "'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
      - JRR Tolkien.
  7. Picturing preliminary testing... by AndyChrist · · Score: 3, Funny

    A group of lab-coated engineers having a barbecue using a 48 million dollar grill.

  8. Black Mesa by Chairboy · · Score: 3, Funny

    Of interest, the testing work here in Nevada has been farmed out to a private corporation. We now call it the Black Mesa Research Facility. Dr. Freeman and I have just started working together, and we have a number of exciting experiments underway. This last one in the story just happened, and it was very...

    hold on, there's something moving out in the hallway, I've got to go check.

    )#($)
    NO CARRIER

  9. Re:so that's what it was by interiot · · Score: 4, Funny

    As if a million tuna cans cried out, and then were silenced?

  10. Re:Power Calculation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny
    I also forgot some decimal places in my previous equation

    You work for NASA, right?