New R&D Direction "Hot Fusion in a Can "

Discover Magazine ^ | Feb 2002 | Kathy A. Svitil

[The Raven]

Richard Siemen, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, thinks he's found a way to harness the nuclear fusion reactions that power the sun— and do it with a device not much bigger than a beer can. The long-standing obstacle to fusion power is that atomic nuclei strongly repel one another, and it takes some heavy-handed technology to bring them together. So far, after spending decades and billions of dollars on warehouse-sized reactors, researchers have yet to extract enough energy to power a flashlight. Siemen hopes to succeed where others failed by injecting heated and magnetized hydrogen into a 10-inch-long, 31/2-inch-wide aluminum cylinder and then shooting a 10- million-amp current into the can, which collapses and crushes its contents. Under those conditions, Siemen theorizes, the hydrogen should fuse, producing helium and a flood of high-speed neutrons whose energy can be converted to electricity. So far, he has imploded a can but has not achieved nuclear burning. "Within 20 years, we could have a demonstration unit that would cost less than a billion dollars," he says. In the fusion world, that would qualify as a real breakthrough.

[RightWhale]

There are people who will crush a beer can on their forehead for a lot less than $1 billion.

[eno_]

I crushed a beer can against my head and saw a brilliant flash of light.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Can I stand somewhere else when he tries it?

[Billy_bob_bob]

This sorta reminds me of the "Riggatron", a proposed cheap fusion device I read about in Omni magazine oh, around twenty years ago. The name Robert Broussard comes to mind, but I don't remember if he was involved or not. This will most likely also come to nothing. What is the current state of the art of fusion technology, anyway? Is it still twenty years away, like it was twenty years ago?

[Alkhin]

ROFL...y'all are too funny!

Wonder if those here who complain about gas prices are suddenly worried about the prospects of a fusion technology removing their raison d'etre????

HMMMMMMMMM???????

[d4now]

I've always wondered about people with his last name.

[RightWhale]

Is it still twenty years away

Forty years ago it was 40 years away. Now it is only 39 years away. There is insufficient data to determine whether the timeline curve of progress is linear or an incomplete elliptic integral of the second kind.

[The Raven]

I've always wondered about people with his last name.

Yeah!! Now that I looked at his drawing again.......hmmm.....there may be a problem.

[SolitaryMan]

Can O'Fission

[mrsmith]

"shooting a 10- million-amp current into the can, which collapses and " ...cools off the plasma.

[SolitaryMan]

Make that "Can O'Fusion"

[El Sordo]

Sounds like a 1 shot deal.

At a billion dollars a pop I'd imagine that Mr. Fusion won't be in my kitchen any time soon even if this does work......

[The Raven]

More goodies here The 11 Greatest Unanswered Questions of Physics

[sharktrager]

There is a similarly sized device in New Mexico which can also produce enormous energy. This device is called a burrito. Once it is consumed it will produce violent explosions which have a surprising destructive ability. If only this power could be harnessed we could completely end our dependence on foreign oil.

[r9etb]

Forty years ago it was 40 years away. Now it is only 39 years away.

Fool! It's only a constant 20 years now -- he even said so. That's progress -- we're closer to not getting it than we've ever been before!

There is insufficient data to determine whether the timeline curve of progress is linear or an incomplete elliptic integral of the second kind.

Moore's law predicts that the computing power of chips will double every 18 months. Let me be the first to propose RightWhale's law:

"The time between now and the advent of fusion power becomes twice as constant every 18 months."

[d4now]

It does say "Plasma Injector" right there near the tip.

[ThinkLikeWaterAndReeds]

A massive power source with the by-product of helium. Maybe we will be able to avoid another Yucca mountain if this thing is for real.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

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