Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-01-24
Continued From First Page

C0ntlnueo from FIST rage
centigrade against i've million.
The British. on the other
hand. reported sustaining the
temperatures for a longer
period Of time-for periods of
thousandths Of a second as
compared with millionths Of a
second reported by the Ameri-
cans.
The higher American tenn
peratures were achieved in par
ticular experiments that began
just last month. whereas the
British apparently achieved
theirs several months before.
Neither country. however. al
luded to any significance in
such differences in results or
time when achieved.
Temperatures of at least 100
million degrees-suStained for
perhaps several seconds--would
be required to obtain useful
power from the hydrogen. or
fusion. reaction.
unknown Process Seen
United States officials in to-
days report also said that an
analysis of the British results
indicated that In the particu-
lar apparatus used by the Brit
ish. an unknown process"
must be in operation.
And the American report
added:
How this process behaves
under different conditions may
be Of great importance in the
design Of a controlled thermo-
nuclear reactor."
The scientific reports re-
leased today were timed to
coincide with their publication
n the British technical Jour-
nal Nature and the American
scientific publication Physical
Review. In addition. there
was a press release prepared by
the U. X Atomic Energy Au-
thority. and prepared state
ments by Mr.. Strauss and by
DR.. Arthur E. Ruark. chief of
the American research project
on Harvesting hydrogen power.
Some OF the American techni-
cal reports were being pub
lished in the British journal
The Strauss statement said
certain areas in the thermonu-
clear research field must re-
main secret in both countries.
The scientific reports were
highly technical. but the Brit
ish press release was livened
UP by a comparison Of one
scientific phenomenon to "a
neon advertising sign"
Homely Comparisons
DR.. Ruark's analysis OF Amer
lean reports-most of them by
scientists Of Aces Los Alamos
scientific laboratory--was pep
pered by such statements as
these:
He compared the action OF a
magnetic field - the process
used to contain hot gaseous
hydrogen materials within an
experimental device-7to that OF
"a football player trying to
shove his opponent out OF
bounds"
And he said one Of the earlier
problems since overcome in the
research project was analogous
20 asking a boa constructor
not to construct"
The objective in both the
The objective in both the
American and British work is
to get hydrogen atoms TO fuse"
or Join in sufficient quantities
so that SUFFICIENT energy is re-
leased TO generate power.
The process is the opposite OF
atomic energy released in the
fission process in which atoms
are split.
II the hydrogen process
could be perfected. there would
be enough hydrogen in sea
water to supply mankind's
power requirements for mil
lions Of years.
TwofOId Problems
But the problems to be sur
mounted are twofold:
/. Generating temperatures
OF 20 TO 80 million degrees for
a process that would involve
the least accessible kind Of
hydrogen called "tritium" or a
temperature OF about 400 mil
lion degrees for a more access
sible kind called "deuterium.
Both are heavy forms nj hvdro-