Can world's largest laser zap Earth's energy woes?

cnn ^ | April 28, 2010 | John D. Sutter

[JoeProBono]

Livermore, California (CNN) -- Scientists at a government lab here are trying to use the world's largest laser -- it's the size of three football fields -- to set off a nuclear reaction so intense that it will make a star bloom on the surface of the Earth.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's formula for cooking up a sun on the ground may sound like it's stolen from the plot of an "Austin Powers" movie. But it's no Hollywood fantasy: The ambitious experiment will be tried for real, and for the first time, late this summer.

If they're successful, the scientists hope to solve the global energy crisis by harnessing the energy generated by the mini-star.

[JoeProBono]

[JimRed]

Don’t a lot of “end of the world” sci-fi movies start that way?

[refermech]

Uh, what could possibly go wrong?

[nhoward14]

“to set off a nuclear reaction so intense that it will make a star bloom on the surface of the Earth”

I’ll take “Theories that need not be tested” for $2000, Alex.

[WayneS]

...or cut the planet in half.

Either way our energy worries are over!

[knews_hound]

I actually worked on this things cousin back in the 80’s at LLNL.

It was an amazing piece of tech even then.

Cheers,

knewshound

[GeronL]

What bad could happen with a man-made sun on the Earth??

Is it Bye Bye California?

[GQuagmire]

Waiting for Dr. Evil and images from that 80’s movie with Val Kilmer where the house gets hit with the laser from an airplane and the house is full of popcorn kernels.....

[Pontiac]

OMG We’re all going to die!!!!

Cue the little cartoon figure running around.

[nhoward14]

Still unresolved is the question of how to attach this sucker to a shark’s head.

[autumnraine]

Harness the energy of a star. Okee dokeeeee

[SJSAMPLE]

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

[a fool in paradise]

How much power does it take to run the facility and fire up the laser?

Everyone thinks that electricity is free and somehow using it to run “green” solutions is “green”.

[autumnraine]

[a fool in paradise]

What bad could happen with a man-made sun on the Earth??

Don't worry, these things will work out. Some other scientists are working on creating mini-black holes on Earth.

[Mikey_1962]

Can world's largest laser zap Earth's energy woes?

NO because of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

[Mere Survival]

Correct me if I’m wrong but this is just dramatic language describing nuclear fusion. Princeton’s been trying and failing to make it a reality for many decades. They always put in more energy to maintain the reaction than they are able to get out of the reaction. There was a mild concern that fission would do the same thing people are worried about here in the thread (blow up the air and all the world in a chain reaction). I don’t know the science but I’m thinking we aren’t that powerful. Suns have to be BIG to get the reaction going. Not a tiny thing in a tiny vessel (relatively speaking).

[Redleg Duke]

Right! My ex-Mother-in-Law lives in San Francisco.

I am looking for a down-side to this...I really am not addicted to Sour Dough.

[JoeProBono]

[a fool in paradise]

Still unresolved is the question of how to attach this sucker to a shark’s head.

Scientists at a government lab here are trying to use the world's largest laser -- it's the size of three football fields...

I think we're gonna need a bigger shark.

[GeronL]

Maybe the mini-black hole will swallow the man-made sun?

Then again it’d have to go through the planet.

[a fool in paradise]

We need a panel to investigate man-made global astronomy.

[JoeProBono]

[Snickering Hound]

[Slings and Arrows]

that 80’s movie with Val Kilmer where the house gets hit with the laser from an airplane and the house is full of popcorn kernels.....

That was "Real Genius."

[GeronL]

No wonder aliens are staying away... they probably know humans are nuts

[GQuagmire]

Thank you. Too lazy to Google...

[G Larry]

Funny....this was the Subject of my 1980 Master’s thesis:
“Fusion by laser implosion”, was the end state for U.S. energy independence by the year 2005......

[rightwingcrazy]

For the past 50 years, a practical fusion power plant has been ten years away, or so I’ve read. I’m so disappointed.

[Pontiac]

Better bring the “SEA VIEW” out of moth balls.

We’re going to need it after this thing ignites the atmosphere.

[rightwingcrazy]

That, and flying cars.

[Pontiac]

Thanks

I needed that.

[Slings and Arrows]

YW (even lazier...)

[Joe 6-pack]

"Don’t a lot of “end of the world” sci-fi movies start that way?"

Nope....but they end that way.

[calex59]

Question for those that know(if any): How hot does this thing get, miniature sun implies millions of degrees. How does one contain that type of heat. If it doesn't get that hot why are they using hyper BS such as "miniature sun" to describe it? Even so, does it get so hot it will melt anytime of containment vessel, can they cool it down, can they control it at all?

I realize those are questions they should have answered already but then again we are talking about scientist, some of whom believe in global warming.

[Slings and Arrows]

The Second Law of Thermodynamics isn’t at issue here - the laser will be used to start a self-sustaining nuclear fusion reaction, not as a source of power.

[ravingnutter]

[Tallguy]

What they don't tell you is that the “heat of the sun” lasts like a billionth of a second. The heat transfer would be manageable.

[Mikey_1962]

The containment of the resultant plasma is at issue and is subject to the second law of thermodynamics as are you and I.

[Reeses]

a self-sustaining nuclear fusion reaction

The dirty little secret they don't bring up is that fusion power generates radioactive waste too, just less of it. The volume of waste isn't really the problem with conventional nuclear power plants. A fusion plant doesn't just melt down, it goes nova.

[autumnraine]

Yeah, much more fitting to the thread. :o)

[BipolarBob]

"I really am not addicted to Sour Dough"

Yeah, but what about Rice-A-Roni?

[MNJohnnie]

What bad could happen with a man-made sun on the Earth??

Is it Bye Bye California?

And that would be a bad thing how?

[GeronL]

25% of welfare cases would be gone.

We might need to build a new port though

[traderrob6]

I hate it when that happens.

[JoeProBono]

[thinkin out loud]

Nova???

[thinkin out loud]

Yeah but we here in ‘green’ California have made up for it by outlawing incandescent bulbs so it shouldn’t be a problem. \s

[kingu]

That and a longer FR fundraiser, since we'll need a new server, owner, etc.

[thinkin out loud]

Nova???