The scintillator.
Posted on 04/27/2005 8:30:27 PM PDT by FairOpinion
A pocket-sized device which can harness fusion, the energy source of the Sun, with the help of crystals no bigger than a sugar cube has been developed by scientists.
The "pocket fusion" device, described today in the journal Nature, raises new possibilities in fields as diverse as space propulsion, medical diagnostics, cancer treatment and the hunt for concealed weapons.
Now Brian Naranjo, Jim Gimzewski, a professor from Glasgow, and Prof Seth Putterman of the University of California, Los Angeles describe a breathtakingly simple way to fuse atoms with the help of a crystal.
They fused atoms of deuterium - heavy hydrogen - using a pyroelectric crystal to generate a beam of charged particles - deuterium ions - to bombard a deuterium target.
"These crystals were discovered 2,000 years ago by the Ancient Greeks," said Mr Naranjo.
"It is the electrical analogue of a permanent magnet and if you heat or cool it you can build up a very large charge and very large electric field."
With gentle warming, even by hand, researchers concentrated the field made by the crystal at the tip of a connected tungsten needle.
The neutron emission is 400 times stronger than the usual background level.
"We are getting about 1,000 neutrons a second," said Mr Naranjo. "The amazing thing is that we are heating a crystal to 25C and getting this very large fusion signal with no external power supplies.
"It is just a crystal with a needle. The simplicity is striking."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The scintillator.
Outstanding research that could be a breakthrough in new power sources. Sounds like they're sensitive about pissing off the oil industry though.
Should spell it "skintillator".
The piezoelectric crystal is simply quarts, and is used in exactly the same way to ignite your BBQ grill.
The key element is the deuterium, and that is not something you can obtain at your local hardware store.
Not to mention, deuterium is not cheap!
Of couse I am... and quit calling me Scott.
Done in my best deadpan Leslie Nielsen voice.
> ... with the help of crystals no bigger than a sugar cube ...
Finally.
Crystolic fusion.
Will the name Buzz Lightyear be on the patent?
Maybe they could implant one of those mini reactors in every Republican Senator as a substitute for gonads.
No... "quarts" is beer. "Quartz" are crystals.
I told him an hour, he said he came prepared to talk for three and laughed. During the talk he would speak about the current overhead and leaf through his stack for the next without ever losing the thread. It was an amazing talk.
During the Q&A someone asked about a dispute concerning a refereed paper in Science and his involvement. He asked that the cameras recording him be stopped and we of course complied. He then answered the question in a most amusing manner.
Great man, great speaker. I'd bet there is something here.
regards,
Perhaps this has already happened, because a high neutron flux would destroy gonads.
Or the "titillator".
Amazing, they said it doesn't generate as much energy as it takes in, but I'm sure enough engineering could solve that.
Sounds interesting, but very doubtful.
MMMmmmm ....beer..
60 year cell phone power source. :') Which means the "batteries" will outlast the phone about fifteen-fold (at least).
And it's not April Fool's Month.
Makes pocket pool obsolete!
Your a genius! My idea is just to soak the tumor in bleach.
Maybe we could team up and find some venture capital. The robot could use bleach.....
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