quote{ WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., July. 12 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Purdue University have new evidence supporting earlier findings by other scientists who designed an inexpensive "tabletop" device that uses sound waves to produce nuclear fusion reactions.

The technology, in theory, could lead to a new source of clean energy and a host of portable detectors and other applications.

The new findings were detailed in a peer-reviewed paper appearing in the May issue of the journal Nuclear Engineering and Design. The paper was written by Yiban Xu, a post-doctoral research associate in the School of Nuclear Engineering, and Adam Butt, a graduate research assistant in both nuclear engineering and the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

A key component of the experiment was a glass test chamber about the size of two coffee mugs filled with a liquid called deuterated acetone, which contains a form of hydrogen known as deuterium, or heavy hydrogen. The researchers exposed the test chamber to subatomic particles called neutrons and then bombarded the liquid with a specific frequency of ultrasound, which caused cavities to form into tiny bubbles. The bubbles then expanded to a much larger size before imploding, apparently with enough force to cause thermonuclear fusion reactions.

Fusion reactions emit neutrons that fall within a specific energy range of 2.5 mega-electron volts, which was the level of energy seen in neutrons produced in the experiment. The experiments also yielded a radioactive material called tritium, which is another product of fusion, Xu and Butt said.
quote}

Table Top Nuclear Fisson

This is just funny.
/snip{
Them smarty-pants news reporters were all in a tizzy today because of somethin I said. I don’t even remember quite what it was-- I was just trying to tell the American people how important I am to them. \\\\\they are to me. What gives. I thought you were supposed to be able to erase on these things. Maybe Karl knows.
/snip}

George W's Blog

Latest Bushism: [My administration will] "never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people."

New 'Bushism' Born at Bill Signing

If these technologies in the wrong hands don't worry you, what does?

Military readies directed-energy weapons

/Snip{
Directed energy could bring numerous advantages to the battlefield in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have had to deal with hostile but unarmed crowds as well as dangerous insurgents.

Aside from paralyzing potential attackers or noncombatants like a long-range stun gun, directed-energy weapons could fry the electronics of missiles and roadside bombs, developers say, or even disable a vehicle in a high-speed chase.

The most ambitious program is the Air Force's Airborne Laser, a plan to mount a laser on a modified Boeing 747 and use it to shoot down missiles.
/Snip}

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/08/02/directedenergyweapons.ap/index.html

/ Heh, and you thought lasers were just made for making pets go bonkers.

[[ Conventional broadcasters, worried about losing business, have [[ cried foul. The National Association of Broadcasters, the
[[ lobbying arm of traditional radio, says local programming by
[[ satellite radio would violate government regulations.

[[ "We believe satellite radio companies were licensed for
[[ national radio programming services exclusively," NAB spokesman [[ Dennis Wharton says.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/07/30/satellite.radio/index.html

/ If FM didn't suck so bad I wouldn't of gotten XM. Besides, how exactly does XM violate government regulations when FCC licenses the sattelite spectrum and the FCC is a gonvernment run branch.