Newsgroup: it.cultura.militare
Titolo: Conferme alla fusione nucleare da "tavolo"

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/ny_team_confirms_ucla_tabletop_fusion_10017.html
"NY team confirms UCLA tabletop fusion
Submitted by BJS on Mon, 2006-02-13 09:05.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a 
tabletop accelerator that produces nuclear fusion at room temperature, 
providing confirmation of an earlier experiment conducted at the 
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), while offering substantial 
improvements over the original design.
The device, which uses two opposing crystals to generate a powerful 
electric field, could potentially lead to a portable, battery-operated 
neutron generator for a variety of applications, from non-destructive 
testing to detecting explosives and scanning luggage at airports. The 
new results are described in the Feb. 10 issue of Physical Review Letters.
"Our study shows that 'crystal fusion' is a mature technology with 
considerable commercial potential," says Yaron Danon, associate 
professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at 
Rensselaer. "This new device is simpler and less expensive than the 
previous version, and it has the potential to produce even more neutrons."
The device is essentially a tabletop particle accelerator. At its heart 
are two opposing "pyroelectric" crystals that create a strong electric 
field when heated or cooled. The device is filled with deuterium gas -- 
a more massive cousin of hydrogen with an extra neutron in its nucleus. 
The electric field rips electrons from the gas, creating deuterium ions 
and accelerating them into a deuterium target on one of the crystals. 
When the particles smash into the target, neutrons are emitted, which is 
the telltale sign that nuclear fusion has occurred, according to Danon.
A research team led by Seth Putterman, professor of physics at UCLA, 
reported on a similar apparatus in 2005, but two important features 
distinguish the new device: "Our device uses two crystals instead of 
one, which doubles the acceleration potential," says Jeffrey Geuther, a 
graduate student in nuclear engineering at Rensselaer and lead author of 
the paper. "And our setup does not require cooling the crystals to 
cryogenic temperatures -- an important step that reduces both the 
complexity and the cost of the equipment."
The new study also verified the fundamental physics behind the original 
experiment. This suggests that pyroelectric crystals are in fact a 
viable means of producing nuclear fusion, and that commercial 
applications may be closer than originally thought, according to Danon.
"Nuclear fusion has been explored as a potential source of power, but we 
are not looking at this as an energy source right now," Danon says. 
Rather, the most immediate application may come in the form of a 
battery-operated, portable neutron generator. Such a device could be 
used to detect explosives or to scan luggage at airports, and it could 
also be an important tool for a wide range of laboratory experiments.
The concept could also lead to a portable x-ray generator, according to 
Danon. "There is already a commercial portable pyroelectric x-ray 
product available, but it does not produce enough energy to provide the 
50,000 electron volts needed for medical imaging," he says. "Our device 
is capable of producing about 200,000 electron volts, which could meet 
these requirements and could also be enough to penetrate several 
millimeters of steel."
In the more distant future, Danon envisions a number of other medical 
applications of pyroelectric crystals, including a wearable device that 
could provide safe, continuous cancer treatment.
 From Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute"
http://www.rpi.edu/
-- 
  -- Robert A. Heinlein
Limiting the freedom of news ‘just a little bit’ is in the same category 
within the classic example ‘a little bit pregnant’.

Mirco Romanato wrote:
e che cazzo dovrebbe c'entrare con il NG it.cultura.militare pezzo di merda?