-Caveat Lector- (The scientists are using sonoluminescence to create fusion, if this is correct. Awesome if true! Take that, Bush and Enron!!! --SW)
Nuke Fusion Made in Tabletop Test By Paul Recer AP Science Writer Monday, March 4, 2002; 8:41 PM WASHINGTON �� In a tabletop experiment, researchers created a reaction like nuclear fusion � the energy source of the sun. Using a device described as the size of three stacked coffee cups, they zapped tiny dissolved bubbles with sound waves, triggering a flash of light and super-high temperatures. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute say the phenomenon was like nuclear fusion in a bottle, but they are uncertain if it could be used as a source of energy. The study appears this week in the journal Science and was released for publication by the journal on Monday. Researchers said that the experiment, which they called "bubble fusion," created two signs of nuclear fusion: a burst of subatomic particles called neutrons and the production of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen. In an unusual comment on the work, other scientists at Oak Ridge posted a review on the Internet that disputed the findings. It said their repeat of the experiment failed to detect sufficient neutrons to prove the claimed results. Harnessing nuclear fusion, the power that lights the sun, has long been a goal of researchers who view it as the ultimate energy source. Most researchers have concentrated on huge machines that mimic the sun by compressing hydrogen plasma and heating it to millions of degrees to force atoms to fuse. This reaction gives off heat and an isotope of helium, along with some subatomic particles. But in the experiment reported in Science, researchers used the simple equipment to create and analyze a brief flash and burst of heat that may be fusion. R. P. Taleyarkhan of Oak Ridge, the first author of the study, said in Science that the experiment is true "tabletop physics," using an apparatus "the size of three coffee cups stacked on top of the other." Richard T. Lahey Jr., a Rensselaer professor and a co-author of the study, said it was not clear if the technique could be used as an energy source, but it could be valuable in fundamental studies of nuclear fusion. In the study, researchers used a beaker of a chemical called deuterated acetone. Normal acetone is a colorless, volatile liquid often used as a paint remover or chemical solvent. In deuterated acetone, the chemical's normal hydrogen atoms have been replaced with deuterium, a hydrogen isotope that is heavier than ordinary hydrogen and is capable fusion reactions. When combined with oxygen, deuterium is sometimes called "heavy water." The researchers introduced tiny bubbles, no bigger than the period at the end of a sentence, into the beaker. They then zapped the bubbles with sound waves. The bubbles rapidly expanded and then collapsed. It's believed that the bubble collapse causes a momentary shock wave that creates high pressures, high temperatures and a flash of light, called sonoluminescence. In a discussion of the experiment, F. D. Becchetti, a physicist at the University of Michigan, said the study by Taleyarkhan needs to be confirmed by other researchers. "If the results are confirmed, this new compact apparatus will be a unique tool for studying nuclear fusion reactions," said Becchetti. He said the experiments appear to have been carefully done and analyzed by reviewers. "The results are credible until proven otherwise," said Becchetti. However, in a repeat of the experiment that used slightly different equipment, D. Shapira and M. J. Saltmarsh of Oak Ridge contended the neutron emission they detected was too small to explain the tritium production reported by Taleyarkhan. In a response, Taleyarkhan and his colleagues said Shapira and Saltmarsh misinterpreted their results, and the level of neutron emission they detected was consistent with the original experiment. The announcement of the Taleyarkhan tabletop fusion experiment is in sharp contrast to the tabletop fusion experiment announced at a news conference in 1989 by researchers at the University of Utah. The Utah experiment used electrodes placed inside a vat of heavy water, or deuterium. The Utah conclusions were quickly rejected by many other physicists. Taleyarkhan's experiment, however, was reviewed by a committee of experts, selected by Science, before the study was accepted for publication. ������ Science: www.sciencemag.org � 2002 The Associated Press ------------------------ "In little more than a year we have gone from enjoying peace and the most prosperous economy in our history, to a nation plunged into war, recession and fear. This is a nation being transformed before our very eyes." http://www.truthout.com Steve Wingate, Webmaster ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
