Catching up on my tech reading...

[swestrup]

Two (of probably many) articles can be found at the New York Times and the USA Today web sites talking about a new pocket fusion generator. Unlike cold fusion and sonofusion, the reaction of scientists upon reading the description of the expierment has been along the lines of "Gosh, that would work, wouldn't it!"

The device only produces about 800 neutrons a second, so there's not a lot fusion happening here, but as a brand new technique, I think it has potential to get scientists thinking about some possibly revolutionary uses.

Comments

[tjernobyl.livejournal.com]

It's not near break-even-- I doubt it's even 1%, but it is a new method, and could probably be developed further.

I like sonoluminescence as a method-- If you put a Pistol Shrimp in heavy water, it concievably could produce a fusion reaction on its own.

[auriam.livejournal.com]

I thought sonoluminescence might be a workable idea, since it produces extremely high pressures and temperatures in small areas well.. but to get energy out of it, you'd have to make enough energy to make a temperature differential with normal room temperature, and if it were enough to generate significant heat, it would boil the fluid.

Unless it were under extreme compression...