SFGATE's Drew Magary on why this isn't the holy grail — but it's still a cause for celebration.
Since the beginning of time, mankind has yearned to create the sun. And for over 70 years, scientists have known how to create an artificial nuclear fusion reaction, forcing positively-charged particles to slam together and fuse, generating an enormous amount of heat. It’s something that the sun has been doing for roughly 4.6 billion years.
That all changed on Dec. 5, at 1:03 a.m., when a handful of night-owl scientists at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory bombarded a tiny capsule of frozen hydrogen with 192 intense lasers, forcing the atoms to bounce around the container at an incredibly high speed. The protons in these atoms were positively charged, which means they repel each other.
More damning, the scientists only produced a net gain in energy if you count the power from those 192 lasers themselves, and not the power needed to run those lasers. These are very hot, concentrated lasers, which means that it takes an awful lot of power — hundreds of times the amount of energy produced in the reactor. So the official energy surplus announced this week is something of a trick of accounting.
Broughton also noted that, while the scientists were able to produce an energy surplus from the fusion reaction, there was no way to HARNESS that energy. There was no water tank in their testing room that made steam to spin a turbine. There was just a brilliant burst of heat, and then nothing.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Concept Art Reveals Jessica Drew, May Parker, and MoreConcept art from 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' reveals Jessica Drew, May Parker and more.
Consulte Mais informação »
Drew Barrymore Talks New Year’s Resolutions & How To Make Your Holidays More SustainableThe actress, talk show host, and Grove ambassador shares her holiday secrets.
Consulte Mais informação »
Drew Brees Named Assistant Coach by Purdue for Citrus BowlDrew Brees is being hired by Purdue as an assistant coach to help the team for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the school announced on Thursday
Consulte Mais informação »
Drew Brees brought on as Purdue assistant coach for Citrus BowlPurdue has a bowl game to play as it transitions into a new era with a new coaching staff, so the program's most famous product is returning to West Lafayette to help those efforts.
Consulte Mais informação »
Purdue hires alum Drew Brees as assistant coach ahead of Citrus BowlHired as a countable assistant coach per NCAA guidelines, Brees will have the ability to work on-field with student-athletes and participate in recruiting activities.
Consulte Mais informação »
Drew Brees joins Purdue football team as interim assistant coach for Citrus BowlLegendary NFL QB Drew Brees returns to his alma mater to assist interim coach Brian Brohm as the Boilermakers prepare for a Jan. 2 bowl game vs. LSU.
Consulte Mais informação »