Building a Star on Earth - France gets nuclear fusion plant

[Swafe]

Compairing a TNT bomb to any nuclear reaction is misleading.

Chemical reactions cannot create or destroy energy, they can only absorb or reasleas it by forming or breaking down the bonds between molecules. There is no net gain or loss of mass.

In a nuclear reactions mass is actually lost or gained. Matter and energy are interchangeable. A fision or fusion reaction converts some (more for fusion than fission) of the mass put into it to energy. A matter/antimater reaction can convert all the mass involved into energy. A small ammount of mass is equivalent to an enourmos amount of energy, wich is why neclear reactions produce so much power.

As far as I know,there is no loss or gain in mass, but there is a loss and gain of atoms - for example a tritium (3^H) binds to a deuterium (2^H) which binds to form a helium atom, like on the sun, the byproduct is an incrediably charged neutron (left over, as 2 x 2^H would create a 4^He, so instead of using 2 deuteriums, using a tritium and a deuterium gives a total of 4 neutrons... so it will release a spare neutron) this is increadiably charged from the reaction and the the energy can be harnessed and stored.

The mass is exactly the same as it goes in BUT deuterium is lost and tritium is lost, and helium is formed. Its more of a fusion than a chemichal reaction, a bit like nuclear in a way, hence the excess energy from the binding is released

Or something

[ajbrun]

How do you know that the french wouldnt use it as a cover to making a weapon? And if they are making significant amounts then it will be more than france feeling the impact.

Neo

Neon - you're getting paronoid.


= neonplanet40

[oralpain]

The french have had nuclear weapons for almost 50 years...

As far as I know,there is no loss or gain in mass, but there is a loss and gain of atoms - for example a tritium (3^H) binds to a deuterium (2^H) which binds to form a helium atom, like on the sun, the byproduct is an incrediably charged neutron (left over, as 2 x 2^H would create a 4^He, so instead of using 2 deuteriums, using a tritium and a deuterium gives a total of 4 neutrons... so it will release a spare neutron) this is increadiably charged from the reaction and the the energy can be harnessed and stored.

The mass is exactly the same as it goes in BUT deuterium is lost and tritium is lost, and helium is formed. Its more of a fusion than a chemichal reaction, a bit like nuclear in a way, hence the excess energy from the binding is released

Or something

A nuclear reaction is any reaction in when two nuclei or nuclear particles collide. Fission and fusion are both types of nuclear reactions.

There is a change in mass in all neclear reactions.

In hydrogen to helium fusion about 0.7% of the mass is lost and converted to energy. You endup with less total matter than you put in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reaction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion

Might also want to look up E=mc² as well.

[neonplanet40]

about the plant in sweden that makes Anti-Matter? If it did blow then we would be well f**ked lol. Think i read somewhere that one drop could power new york for a very long period of time.. But its highly unstable also. I suppose in a way its gd to know the world is developing

neo

[autopilot]

In terms of the physics and huge amounts of energy involved, the Iter project would be akin to building a star on Earth.

Que the geeky Slartibartfast jokes, chortle...

[RoGuE|SaBeR]

Presumably you meant CERN which can produce antimatter?

[oralpain]

Any large particle accelerator can produce antimatter. CERN is one of the biggest and best for it though. Still, the total ammount of antimatter artifically produced in the history of mankind is a fraction of a gram. They do get better at making it all the time though. Price is supposedly down to somewhere in the ballpark of 25 billion dollars a gram, it used to be in the trillions of dollars per gram.

Antimatter itself is to hard to make and too hard to store to be used as a weapon or propellant in the near future, but using antimatter to get a fusion reaction going is quite possible and may soon have practical applications, like a cleaner, safer (for the troops sent in after the blast) hydrogen bomb, and spacecraft propulsion.

[RoGuE|SaBeR]

As an interesting aside on the CERN website there is a page detailing all the facts to counter act Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons".

Interersting read.

[Knoxville]

This isn't such a bad thing, infact I'm quite looking forward to living on primest beach front property on lake France...

[neonplanet40]

As an interesting aside on the CERN website there is a page detailing all the facts to counter act Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons".

Interersting read.

Thats actually where i read about it lo. Hes a very gd auther. The Da VInci code was a great book. Hopefully the film wont destroy the book as always.

At then end of the day if a weapon superior to everything else can be made out of these things it will be made, its things liek these that make a super power a super power. Nothin we can do or say to stop it.


Neo

[Knoxville]

I thought fondu was raw potatoe's in cheese? (I can be smug aswell )

[mmh]

dear god help us all!

france with nuclear power :|

[neonplanet40]

fusion

[mmh]

can you imagine... france with a nuclear device...

its every bits god given right to hate french people from birth, and now they get nuclear devices....



Im moving.

[Twigman]

Er the French have had plenty of nuclear fission plants for ages...
I reckon they'll do a better job than the UK could at it

[Byatt]

At then end of the day if a weapon superior to everything else can be made out of these things it will be made, its things like these that make a super power a super power. Nothing we can do or say to stop it.

We already have fusion based weaponry in the form of H-bombs. Please go and put your tinfoil hat back in the shed.

Er the French have had plenty of nuclear fission plants for ages...
I reckon they'll do a better job than the UK could at it

JET is the world's largest nuclear fusion research facility.

Its unique features allow us to explore the unknown; to investigate fusion's potential as a safe, clean, and virtually limitless energy source for future generations.

Situated at Culham in the UK, the Joint European Torus is run as a collaboration between all European fusion organisations and with the participation of scientists from around the globe.

<3 international collaboration - hope they've got their sums right and that the model scales up as well as they hope.