Larger Than Life

Here are two articles I found on new cutting edge technology that might hopefully provide us with free and clean energy in the near future!!

Link to article #1 (MIT)
Levitating magnet brings space physics to fusion



Tests on a machine that mimics a planet’s magnetic field show that it may offer an ‘alternative path’ to taming nuclear fusion for power generation.
David L. Chandler, MIT News Office

A new experiment that reproduces the magnetic fields of the Earth and other planets has yielded its first significant results. The findings confirm that its unique approach has some potential to be developed as a new way of creating a power-producing plant based on nuclear fusion — the process that generates the sun’s prodigious output of energy.

Fusion has been a cherished goal of physicists and energy researchers for more than 50 years. That’s because it offers the possibility of nearly endless supplies of energy with no carbon emissions and far less radioactive waste than that produced by today’s nuclear plants, which are based on fission, the splitting of atoms (the opposite of fusion, which involves fusing two atoms together). But developing a fusion reactor that produces a net output of energy has proved to be more challenging than initially thought.

The new results come from an experimental fusion reactor at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center on the MIT campus, inspired by observations from space made by satellites. Called the Levitated Dipole Experiment, or LDX, a joint project of MIT and Columbia University, it uses a half-ton donut-shaped magnet about the size and shape of a large truck tire, made of superconducting wire coiled inside a stainless steel vessel. This magnet is suspended by a powerful electromagnetic field, and is used to control the motion of the 10-million-degree-hot electrically charged gas, or plasma, contained within its 16-foot-diameter outer chamber.

The results, published this week in the journal Nature Physics, confirm the counter-intuitive prediction that inside the device’s magnetic chamber, random turbulence causes the plasma to become more densely concentrated — a crucial step to getting atoms to fuse together — instead of becoming more spread out, as usually happens with turbulence. This “turbulent pinching” of the plasma has been observed in the way plasmas in space interact with the Earth’s and Jupiter’s magnetic fields, but has never before been recreated in the laboratory.

Most experiments in fusion around the world use one of two methods: tokamaks, which use a collection of coiled magnets surrounding a donut-shaped chamber to confine the plasma, or inertial fusion, using high-powered lasers to blast a tiny pellet of fuel at the device’s center. But LDX takes a different approach. “It’s the first experiment of its kind,” says MIT senior scientist Jay Kesner, MIT’s physics research group leader for LDX, who co-directs the project with Michael E. Mauel, professor of applied physics at Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The results of the experiment show that this approach “could produce an alternative path to fusion,” Kesner says, though more research will be needed to determine whether it would be practical. For example, though the researchers have measured the plasma’s high density, new equipment still needs to be installed to measure its temperature, and ultimately a much larger version would have to be built and tested.

A new approach to a tough problem

Kesner cautions that the kind of fuel cycle planned for other types of fusion reactors such as tokamaks, which use a mixture of two forms of “heavy” hydrogen called deuterium and tritium, should be easier to achieve and will likely be the first to go into operation. The deuterium-deuterium fusion planned for devices based on the LDX design, if they ever become practical, would likely make this “a second-generation approach,” he says.

When operating, the huge LDX magnet is supported by the magnetic field from an electromagnet overhead, which is controlled continuously by a computer based on precision monitoring of its position using eight laser beams and detectors. The position of the half-ton magnet, which carries a current of one million amperes (compared to a typical home’s total capacity of 200 amperes) can be maintained this way to within half a millimeter. A cone-shaped support with springs is positioned under the magnet to catch it safely if anything goes wrong with the control system.

Levitation is crucial because the magnetic field used to confine the plasma would be disturbed by any objects in its way, such as any supports used to hold the magnet in place. In the experimental runs, they recreated the same conditions with and without the support system in place, and confirmed that the confinement of the plasma was dramatically increased in the levitated mode, with the supports removed. With the magnet levitated, the central peak of plasma density developed within a few hundredths of a second, and closely resembled those observed in planetary magnetospheres (such as the magnetic fields surrounding Earth and Jupiter).

Summarizing the difference between the two approaches, Kesner explains that in a tokamak, the hot plasma is confined inside a huge magnet, but in the LDX the magnet is inside the plasma. The whole concept, he says, was inspired by observations of planetary magnetospheres made by interplanetary spacecraft. In turn, he says, for planetary research the experiments in LDX can yield “a lot more subtle detail than you can get by launching satellites, and more cheaply.”

The work ahead

The MIT and Columbia scientists say that if the turbulence-induced density enhancement exhibited by the LDX could be scaled up to larger devices, it might enable them to recreate the conditions necessary to sustain fusion reactions, and thus may point the way toward abundant and sustainable production of fusion energy.

“Fusion energy could provide a long-term solution to the planet’s energy needs without contributing to global warming,” says Columbia’s Mauel.

The LDX project, led by Mauel and Kesner and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, has been through more than 10 years of design, construction and testing, and produced its first experimental results in its levitated configuration last year, which are being reported in the analysis published this week. A newly installed microwave interferometer array, developed by MIT graduate student Alex Boxer PhD ‘09, was used to make the precision measurements of the plasma concentrations that were used to observe the turbulent pinch.

“LDX is one of the most novel fusion plasma physics experiments underway today,” says Stewart Prager, director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Because of the unique geometry of the system, he says, “theoretical predictions indicate that the confinement of energy might be very favorable” for producing practical fusion power, but the theory needs to be confirmed in practice. “For these benefits to be realized, the somewhat bold theoretical predictions must be realized experimentally,” he says.

_________________
My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can.. (F. Zappa)
"How ironic... You eat vegetarian and speak baloney" -- Bucky Catt
Blackadder: Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?
Baldrick: Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron.

Link to article #2 (LLNL)
National Ignition Facility achieves unprecedented 1 megajoule laser shot

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced today that scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have successfully delivered an historic level of laser energy — more than 1 megajoule — to a target in a few billionths of a second and demonstrated the target drive conditions required to achieve fusion ignition.

This is about 30 times the energy ever delivered by any other group of lasers in the world. The peak power of the laser light, which was delivered within a few billionths of a second, was about 500 times that used by the United States at any given time.


(click the picture for a hi-res version)
Laser bay 1 was commissioned in Sept. 2008. It holds half of NIF's 192 beams.
Photo by Jacqueline McBride/LLNL

“Breaking the megajoule barrier brings us one step closer to fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility, and shows the universe of opportunities made possible by one of the largest scientific and engineering challenges of our time,” said NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino. “NIF is a critical component in our stockpile stewardship program to maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent without underground nuclear testing. This milestone is an example of how our nation’s investment in nuclear security is producing benefits in other areas, from advances in energy technology to a better understanding of the universe.”

In order to demonstrate fusion, the energy that powers the sun and the stars, NIF focuses the energy of 192 powerful laser beams into a pencil-eraser-sized cylinder containing a tiny spherical target filled with deuterium and tritium, two isotopes of hydrogen. Inside the cylinder, the laser energy is converted to X-rays, which compress the fuel until it reaches temperatures of more than 200 million degrees Fahrenheit and pressures billions of times greater than Earth’s atmospheric pressure. The rapid compression of the fuel capsule forces the hydrogen nuclei to fuse and release many times more energy than the laser energy that was required to initiate the reaction.

This experimental program to achieve fusion ignition is known as the National Ignition Campaign sponsored by NNSA and is a partnership among LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, General Atomics, Sandia National Laboratories, as well as numerous other national laboratories and universities.

The NIF laser system, the only megajoule laser system in the world, began firing all 192-laser beams onto targets in June 2009. In order to characterize the X-ray drive achieved inside the target cylinders as the laser energy is ramped up, these first experiments were conducted at lower laser energies and on smaller targets than will be used for the ignition experiments. These targets used gas-filled capsules that act as substitutes for the fusion fuel capsules that will be used in the 2010 ignition campaign. The 1 MJ shot represents the culmination of these experiments using an ignition-scale target for the first time.

These early tests have demonstrated that NIF's laser beams can be effectively delivered to the target and are capable of creating sufficient X-ray energy in the target cylinder to drive fuel implosion. The implosions achieved with the surrogate capsules have also been shown to have good symmetry that is adjustable through a variety of techniques. The next step is to move to ignition-like fuel capsules that require the fuel to be in a frozen hydrogen layer (at 425 degrees Fahrenheit below zero) inside the fuel capsule. NIF is currently being made ready to begin experiments with ignition-like fuel capsules in the summer of 2010.


(click the picture for a hi-res version)
A metalic case called a hohlraum holds the fuel capsule for NIF experiments.

“This accomplishment is a major milestone that demonstrates both the power and the reliability of NIF’s integrated laser system, the precision targets and the integration of the scientific diagnostics needed to begin ignition experiments,” said NIF Director Ed Moses. “NIF has shown that it can consistently deliver the energy required to conduct ignition experiments later this year.”

NIF, the world’s largest laser facility, is the first facility expected to achieve fusion ignition and energy gain in a laboratory setting.

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a national security laboratory that develops science and engineering technology and provides innovative solutions to our nation’s most important challenges. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science in the nation’s national security enterprise. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; reduces the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.

_________________
My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can.. (F. Zappa)
"How ironic... You eat vegetarian and speak baloney" -- Bucky Catt
Blackadder: Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?
Baldrick: Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron.

For more information on the National Ignition Facility, read the Wikipedia entry on the subject.

_________________
My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can.. (F. Zappa)
"How ironic... You eat vegetarian and speak baloney" -- Bucky Catt
Blackadder: Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?
Baldrick: Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron.

Remarkable.

From Site:


I'm not sure if people realize just how significant this achievement is. . .One of the greatest obstacles we've had prior was the possession of a laser that could deliver enough energy towards a capsule of deuterium and tritium making fusion possible. . .

I’m blown away by this advance!



No doubt we’ll be watching.

Joe (Bigsky770)

_________________
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.”

- - Groucho Marx

You forgot to vote in the poll, Joe...

_________________
My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can.. (F. Zappa)
"How ironic... You eat vegetarian and speak baloney" -- Bucky Catt
Blackadder: Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?
Baldrick: Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron.

Thanky. All fixed.

Joe (Bigsky770)

_________________
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.”

- - Groucho Marx

Maybe our new members have an opinion on the viability of a fusion reactor?!?

_________________
My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can.. (F. Zappa)
"How ironic... You eat vegetarian and speak baloney" -- Bucky Catt
Blackadder: Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?
Baldrick: Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron.

I don't think a fusion reactor is imminent but we're getting there.

Kudos for an interesting thread!

I voted Laser Beams because if the Goverment is going to choose one that what it will be. They are allready trying to build stronger more powerful lasers for the military.

What a pity that inventions that could possibly benefit the whole of mankind almost always come as a byproduct of a destructive industry like the military...

_________________
My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can.. (F. Zappa)
"How ironic... You eat vegetarian and speak baloney" -- Bucky Catt
Blackadder: Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?
Baldrick: Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron.

I don't think we are going to see a commercial application in the next 40 years. I won't be at all surprised if eventually it is found you just can't reliably and safely produce fusion power.
Besides which, I think they are going to be completely useless for small countries like my own.

We just don't use enough power fast enough, to be able to use a NORMAL nuke plants output. An absolute fact.

One of our politicians presented a paper to the press a few years ago. Nuke stations absolutely need to be below a certain amount of constant demand, because you simply can't shut them off. So you can never have all nuke, it must be something like less than 3/5s of your usage, so in case of some accidental drop in power ( like in fact Auckland has had http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Auckland_Blackout ) you can swiftly shut off your conventional production and allow the nuke to keep running.

They are never ( Or at least not for a long long time ) going to build tiny output fusion reactors, they are going to be so frighteningly expensive and complex, the only way they will be economically feasible is to be humongous producers.

So they are going to be useless for most countries in the world.

No country is going to be hare-brained enough to commit all their production to one plant, so they will always be useful solely to large markets.

I personally never want to see any sort of nuke plant here. they are complete liabilities in every way shape and form.

Cost. Not only are they pauperingly expensive to build, we neither own the ability to actually build one ourselves or even the designs , we would be refused the right to develop one by the USA. So in effect agreeing to go the nuke route is to agree to pay, FOREVER, whatever the USA, or France , or G.B. decides to charge us to build and maintain one of their designs.
Absolutely pathetic mistake for any country, to export their wealth that way.

Target. Such a hugely dangerous institution would be forever a target for extremists.

Pollution. Their proponents of course claim they don't pollute.

Except , of course, all the ones which have done so. And , you know, the fact that you have to do something with their waste. And, you know, that ultimately you have to find somewhere to store the entire radioactive building. New Zealand is nowhere wider than 250 miles. We got nowhere to put this sort of filth.

The real reason is because taking in to count all the genuine costs, it is the most amazingly expensive power producer.

If a dam or wind turbine goes wrong you can mop up the pieces.

If we got nuked because of the greed of some foreign power-plant builder, it would ruin our country. No more tourists. No more export of food-stuffs ( NZ exports 40% of the worlds dairy products. Want some radio active cheese, folks? ) if it happened to have been built in the middle of the country, who would want to drive between our cities? if half the trip was through a wasteland?.

A genuine cost analysis has to include the plan for doing something with the poisoned building when it reaches the end of its life, or goes wrong like many of them have around the world.

And when you see the huge rivers that today just flow out to sea in this country, what a joke.

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I would rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy

Me said it.