Posted on 05/07/2014 3:25:00 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The aurora is more than just a breathtaking display of light. It may also hold the secret of a magnetic phenomenon related to the nuclear fusion powering the sun. This secret could even help create nuclear fusion in the lab, says a team of researchers.
Nuclear fusion is a reaction that combines the nuclei of two atoms into one. The process powers stars, but getting a self-sustained fusion reaction going on Earth is very difficult, and has so far eluded scientists. For example, in February, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California made headlines when they managed to spur a fusion reaction that ate up less fuel than it produced. But the overall process of triggering the reaction still took more energy than was generated.
...
this solar wind is especially strong, it can cause the planet's magnetic field lines to disconnect from Earth. Then, after moving about a third of the way from the Earth to the moon, these lines reconnect and snap back into position. In the process, they sling charged solar particles toward the Earth's atmosphere, triggering the aurora. This breaking and reconnecting of oppositely directed magnetic field lines is called magnetic reconnection. Incidentally, scientists also believe that magnetic reconnection powers the solar flares themselves.
With the aurora borealis, for example, the northern lights usually occur near the North Pole, but the more the magnetic field lines disconnect and snap back, the further south the lights can appear.
However, magnetic reconnection also happens on a much smaller scale during nuclear fusion in the lab. And it is this process that could help make nuclear fusion energy-efficient, researchers reported on March 14 in the journal Physical Review Letters.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
thxs, for the ping.
“secret... magnetic reconnection”
The process in T shock tubes which produced dense million degree plasmas for the Naval Research Laboatories in 1958. And was well publicized at the time.
It is a likely path, though shock tubes aren’t a good geometry.
Here is a fusion company out of Vancouver. Its called General Fusion. The founder Michel Laberge. Its been at work since 2002. The guy has done a presentation at a TED conference there. The company has about 60 million worth of funding (including funding from the canadian government, and a big staff that’s currently building a fusion machine.) Does anyone understand fusion designs well enough to know whether this design is within the design margins of what might be a successful fusion machine. Does anyone understand fusion well enough to know whether the speaker at the TED conference knows what he’s talking about—even if you might disagree with him.
https://www.ted.com/speakers/michel_laberge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Fusion
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/technology-news/general-fusion-new-ceo-nathan-gilliland/
http://recode.net/2014/03/18/the-future-may-be-getting-close-to-reality-in-vancouver-with-d-wave-and-general-fusion/
I'm still trying to understand how the refrigerator works. I may need to try and fix it myself.
Cold Fusion is safer and cheaper than Hot Fusion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.