Sonofusion is back on the table
Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 @ 22:17:15 UTC
Topic: Science
Can the popping of tiny bubbles
trigger nuclear fusion, a potential source of almost unlimited energy?
This controversial idea is back on the table, because its main
proponent has new results that, he claims, will silence critics. But
others say that the latest experiment simply comes with its own set of
problems.
The idea is simple enough. Blast a liquid with waves of ultrasound and tiny bubbles of gas are created, which release a burst of heat and light when they implode. The core of the bubble reaches 15,000 °C, hot enough to wrench molecules apart.
Physicists have even suggested that the intense conditions of this sonoluminescence could fuse atomic nuclei together, in the same process that keeps our Sun running.
Read More (Nature.com) [Papers]
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