A Spark of Hope for Fusion - A new device clears an obstacle to a type of fusion power plant.

www.technologyreview.com ^ | 05/01/2007 | Staff

[Nathan Zachary]

A static generator isn't much good for powering a home, but you can try if you have a mind to. There are already plenty of scam artists on the internet willing to sell you "a piece of the action" of there compact, over-unity self running home genrators that just need a little more money to get it on the market. (Like Tom Bearden's Meg generator). No room on that market for my inventions. I can show you how to put together a home power system and build a windmill(or two) however. otherpower.com What it costs is determined by what your want, what your needs are, and how much you can do yourself- and if you can even attempt such a thing in your location.

[Nathan Zachary]

"I'm curious. How has the government suppressed this? It's right there on the website."

I guess you'll have to read that lunatics web site and figure that out. :o)

[DanielLongo]

I’m curious what they will use to contain the enormous heat that they need as the catalyst to a fusion reaction. In theory the electrical impulses together can achieve it, but how do they contain that kind of heat? Releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of energy would produce in excess of 1000 degrees C. There is a reason the sun is hot! I think this article is a little more than premature. Good post though. Thanks.

[Sherman Logan]

The theory (one of them, anyway) is that magnetic fields will contain the plasma and keep it from coming into direct contact with containment materials. I believe there is no known material that wouldn’t melt at such temperatures.
‘

[Vinnie_Vidi_Vici]

Even a small naval reactor cannot supply the instantaneous power demands of a full sized railgun. You have to discharge 40-60 Megajoules of power into the device in a couple of milliseconds or less. That is why you need a massive capacitor bank to add the needed surge capacity

That device would make a great power supply for a rapid-fire rail gun.

No it wouldn't. A nuclear powerplant in a aircraft carrier is much smaller and actually produces useable power (More than enough for several rail guns of enormous size) to light up a city. This device produces nothing useable at all. I can produce short bursts of power here at home as well (millions of volts) with just a few large magnets and lots of copper wire. Like lightning, it isn't of much use however.

[Nathan Zachary]

"Even a small naval reactor cannot supply the instantaneous power demands of a full sized railgun. You have to discharge 40-60 Megajoules of power into the device in a couple of milliseconds or less. That is why you need a massive capacitor bank to add the needed surge capacity"

Sure it does. A rail gun uses a massive capacitor bank doesn't it? It's rate of repeat firings depends on how long it takes the capacitors to charge back up- among other things. like how long it takes coils to cool down. A navel nuclear reactor would have no problem charging up those capacitors- extremely fast.

[F-117A]

You should have seen me jump when I started reading this headline! I thought for sure someone had nuked Belgrade!

The earth trembles!

[marktwain]

“Even a small naval reactor cannot supply the instantaneous power demands of a full sized railgun. You have to discharge 40-60 Megajoules of power into the device in a couple of milliseconds or less. That is why you need a massive capacitor bank to add the needed surge capacity”
“Sure it does. A rail gun uses a massive capacitor bank doesn’t it? It’s rate of repeat firings depends on how long it takes the capacitors to charge back up- among other things. like how long it takes coils to cool down. A navel nuclear reactor would have no problem charging up those capacitors- extremely fast.”

If you consider a little bit, you will see that you are agreeing with us. This devise *is* essentially the “massive capacitor bank” that you mention, that is used to power the rail gun. Rail gun development has been held up because we have had a difficult time figuring out how to have the “massive capacitor bank” rapid fire fast enough. The nuclear reactor is a great power source.. to supply the rail gun power supply, just as the electric grid is the power source for the power supply of your computer.

[RightWhale]

There is a lot of heat, which is the purpose of the reactor. The heat is drawn off, hopefully continuously, but even so the materials in the structure take a beating.

[EternalVigilance]

[Vinnie_Vidi_Vici]

Yes, but not instantaneous, hence my point! The reactor cannot sustain fire directly,

[DanielLongo]

I don’t want to be the one holding the marshmallow when they try it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!

Great poster....

[Malsua]

Dr Robert Bussard already achieved Fusion with no radioactive byproducts. It doesn’t need to wait 30 years, it doesn’t need superconductors or any other such things that make it unfeasible or unwieldy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell

[Red Badger]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1830767/posts

[Andy from Beaverton]

Exactly my thoughts!