I'm sure I won't be the only one to post this.
Posted on 02/14/2006 2:04:23 PM PST by Neville72
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a tabletop accelerator that produces nuclear fusion at room temperature, providing confirmation of an earlier experiment conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), while offering substantial improvements over the original design.
The device, which uses two opposing crystals to generate a powerful electric field, could potentially lead to a portable, battery-operated neutron generator for a variety of applications, from non-destructive testing to detecting explosives and scanning luggage at airports. The new results are described in the Feb. 10 issue of Physical Review Letters.
"Our study shows that 'crystal fusion' is a mature technology with considerable commercial potential," says Yaron Danon, associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer. "This new device is simpler and less expensive than the previous version, and it has the potential to produce even more neutrons."
The device is essentially a tabletop particle accelerator. At its heart are two opposing "pyroelectric" crystals that create a strong electric field when heated or cooled. The device is filled with deuterium gas -- a more massive cousin of hydrogen with an extra neutron in its nucleus. The electric field rips electrons from the gas, creating deuterium ions and accelerating them into a deuterium target on one of the crystals. When the particles smash into the target, neutrons are emitted, which is the telltale sign that nuclear fusion has occurred, according to Danon.
A research team led by Seth Putterman, professor of physics at UCLA, reported on a similar apparatus in 2005, but two important features distinguish the new device: "Our device uses two crystals instead of one, which doubles the acceleration potential," says Jeffrey Geuther, a graduate student in nuclear engineering at Rensselaer and lead author of the paper. "And our setup does not require cooling the crystals to cryogenic temperatures -- an important step that reduces both the complexity and the cost of the equipment."
The new study also verified the fundamental physics behind the original experiment. This suggests that pyroelectric crystals are in fact a viable means of producing nuclear fusion, and that commercial applications may be closer than originally thought, according to Danon.
"Nuclear fusion has been explored as a potential source of power, but we are not looking at this as an energy source right now," Danon says. Rather, the most immediate application may come in the form of a battery-operated, portable neutron generator. Such a device could be used to detect explosives or to scan luggage at airports, and it could also be an important tool for a wide range of laboratory experiments.
The concept could also lead to a portable x-ray generator, according to Danon. "There is already a commercial portable pyroelectric x-ray product available, but it does not produce enough energy to provide the 50,000 electron volts needed for medical imaging," he says. "Our device is capable of producing about 200,000 electron volts, which could meet these requirements and could also be enough to penetrate several millimeters of steel."
In the more distant future, Danon envisions a number of other medical applications of pyroelectric crystals, including a wearable device that could provide safe, continuous cancer treatment.
From Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
VERY good news!
Dilithium, perhaps?
bttt
Ping
I'm sure I won't be the only one to post this.
AKA cold fusion, right?
We need some of the techie freepers on here opining on the significance of this. My MBA doesn't qualify me.
Ping
What are the neutron energies?
If the deuterons only interact with the crystal, what is fusing?
Could the neutrons just be scattered out of the crystal by the impinging deuterons?
If this works, it's still hot fusion (just on a small scale.)
How much energy is needed to accelerate the deuterons?
How is the output energy to be captured?
This is bigger than huge
It's HUGH!@
Cold fusion is impossible according to the laws of physics as we know them. This isn't cold fusion at all. In fact its still a net loss of energy. Fusion reactions will be used for power, but we need a couple decades to work the engineering out.
I had the same kind of thought. Just because you're getting neutrons doesn't necessarily indicate fusion. I browsed the post, but weren't they talking about energies in the .2 MeV range? Also, what kind of flux are we looking at? Is it enough to activate stuff or not? Inquiring minds want to know.
Does this table top fusion explain why you can't get the table apart at Thansgiving to put in the leaf to make the table bigger? /smart-ass
Don't say that to the Telsa loons lurking about. 8^)
LOL! Posts like this are why I don't hold a cup anymore when browsing the threads.
tourmaline is the oldest known...way back to 324BC...
Fusion = Perpetual government funding machine.. More Money put into it than will ever come out of it.. The Rube Goldberg of Money machines.. Lots of great swelling words.. but not much continuity.. Like an Al Gore speach.. or any democrat waxing fluent.. Like Sheets Byrd..
1.21 gigawatts at your fingertips!!!
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