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Freshman's nuclear fusion reactor has USU physics faculty in awe
deseretnews.com ^
| 9-16-03
| Alan Edwards
Posted on 09/17/2003 8:18:21 PM PDT by wafflehouse
click here to read article
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To: GOPJ
Well, here's about as sexy as Madame Curie gets:
61
posted on
09/18/2003 9:04:40 AM PDT
by
MineralMan
(godless atheist)
To: wafflehouse
Oh, this is wonderful! My 4th grader needed an idea for the science fair...
62
posted on
09/18/2003 9:06:01 AM PDT
by
Snowy
(My golden retriever can lick your honor student)
To: GOPJ
"..naughty pictures of Madame Curie on the wall."
She was a hot, in a radiological sense.
63
posted on
09/18/2003 9:06:35 AM PDT
by
Dead Dog
To: wafflehouse
Bump
64
posted on
09/18/2003 9:06:55 AM PDT
by
techcor
(What crayon do I use to draw a blank?)
To: Diogenesis
Is that true? We have MIT Freeperes? Sweet.
Wrong. Cold fusion does not give neutrons. At the recent MIT demonstration of cold fusion, FReepers were present, and several presented, including a demo.
65
posted on
09/18/2003 9:36:50 AM PDT
by
GOPJ
To: madison10
Half the worlds population is quite a few bodies.
To: azcap
For the benefit of those of you who don't live out west, Desert Industries is not a laboratory or engineering supply store, it is the Mormon Church's equivalent of a Salvation Army store. So in other words, this kid found a molecular pump at a Goodwill!
What does the Mormon church want with a molecular pump???
67
posted on
09/18/2003 10:29:33 AM PDT
by
adam_az
To: Howlin; Ed_NYC; MonroeDNA; widgysoft; Springman; Timesink; dubyaismypresident; Grani; coug97; ...
A homemade nuclear reactor and he comes in second place!? I'm truly afraid to ask what came in first...Just damn.
If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
68
posted on
09/18/2003 10:32:07 AM PDT
by
mhking
(Don't mess in the affairs of dragons; For you are crunchy, and taste great with ketchup...)
To: wafflehouse
amazing. thanks for the post
69
posted on
09/18/2003 10:34:49 AM PDT
by
bedolido
(I can forgive you for killing my sons, but I cannot forgive you for forcing me to kill your sons)
To: wafflehouse
They found a broken turbo molecular pump lying forgotten at Deseret Industries.Oh, right. "You can find that quantum flux regulator behind the molecular pump over there..."
Anybody remember the late 70's TV series "Salvage" with Andy Griffith?
"I'm gonna go up to the moon, get all the junk they left up there, bring it back an' sell it..."
70
posted on
09/18/2003 10:35:11 AM PDT
by
mhking
(Don't mess in the affairs of dragons; For you are crunchy, and taste great with ketchup...)
To: Sooner78
People build these Farnsworth fusion devices in their basement all the time as a hobby- probably part of the reason he got second place. The fusion isn't the interesting part- it's his improvisation of various techniques in the construction.
Here's a website about Farnsworth's fusion reactors, including some directions on constructing your own:
http://fusor.net
71
posted on
09/18/2003 10:43:29 AM PDT
by
TheAngryClam
(A proud member of the McClintock Militia)
To: ALASKA
A fool-proof voting machine for Florida. Dream on. Scientists have been seeking this elusive device for decades. The latest research demonstrates that the South Florida voters are devolving faster than new developments can be created. According to an article here the latest test with punch cards had the residents from South Florida voting the Orangutan from "Every Which Way but Loose" the next President of the United States.
One promising invention actually had the candidates standing on a platform. Apparently the voters were supposed to go up to the platform and pull the nose of the candidate they favored, who would then drop a token into a box indicating the vote. In a test run between Al Gore and a Trash Collector, the toilet was flushed 1700 times, thereby winning the election.
I doubt we will see such an invention in our lifetimes.
Shalom.
72
posted on
09/18/2003 10:55:38 AM PDT
by
ArGee
(Hey, how did I get in this handcart? And why is it so hot?)
To: wafflehouse
Craig built a neutron modulator (which slows down the emitted neutrons so they can be detected) out of a few hundred spare CDs. Modulator? Now that would be cool. Try moderator. Much more pedestrian, but probably more accurate.
Too poor to buy pricey deuterium gas, Craig bought a container of deuterium oxide, or heavy water, for 20 bucks...
20 bucks for a "container" of D2O? I wonder how big that container was? Sounds like a pretty good price to me.
Wallace's detector measures 36 neutrons per minute just in background radiation from space, and the device's usual output adds only four neutrons per minute.
Not to denigrate the kid's work, because it's obvious he worked hard and was creative and learned something, but is anyone else out there wondering about the counting statistics here? It appears that the increase in count rate is within the expected uncertainty just based on Poisson statistics, unless he ran a lot of tests to reduce the sizable of the uncertainty bands. That isn't clear from what is discussed, but I assume he had to have done that otherwise the judges would have questioned the results on that basis (I know I would have). Maybe he ran a very long counting interval and normalized it to cpm. But in that case drift becomes an issue (not necessarily a fatal one) with pulse counting.
73
posted on
09/18/2003 10:59:05 AM PDT
by
chimera
To: madison10
huh? a couple of billion don't count?
74
posted on
09/18/2003 11:03:08 AM PDT
by
King Prout
(people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
To: mhking
maaaan, don't get me excited like that. you had me thinking he'd come up with something cheap and useful.
75
posted on
09/18/2003 11:06:05 AM PDT
by
King Prout
(people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
To: TheAngryClam
Was the one at the GE pavilion at the NY World's Fair a bigger version of these things? I think it had some kind of plasma compression feature, and gave a pretty good "BANG", as I recall (scared the crap out of me):
76
posted on
09/18/2003 11:27:30 AM PDT
by
chimera
To: MineralMan
Post a picture of Lisa Randall or Playboy Bunny-turned noted immunologist Polly Matzinger. Scientists CAN be very attractive.
To: Paul Atreides
Over the past few years, young women have been bringing home the top awards at all of the Intel fairs, and although I don't want to denigrate their obvious intelligence and the hard work they have put into their efforts, I have a suspicion it has to do with the agenda of trying to encourage young women to pursue science. Not only will it hopefully encourage the winners to stay the course and continue on towards a science career, but it will encourage other girls to do as well.
The downside, of course, is that a backlash may occur, as many boys who also have scientific aspirations will feel cheated as they watch girls given headstarts and extra aid. There are many, many school and after-school programs in science that are girls only, but not as many which are co-ed, and none which are boys-only.
To: dansangel
another one of those things that make you say. Hmmmmmmmmm.
79
posted on
09/18/2003 12:20:07 PM PDT
by
.45MAN
(Just say Why!)
To: .45MAN
More like, things that make you go "YIKES!"
80
posted on
09/18/2003 12:47:54 PM PDT
by
dansangel
(***Never Forget!****)
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