Cold fusion gains increased acceptance

and, as i am almost positive, these laws forbid the existence of perpetual motion and/or "free" energy. and yes, i have tried. quite in vain. I'm fairly certain cold fusion is not meant to be "free energy", but, rather, "easy energy".

its still not quite a feasible means of energy production. thermodynamics anyone? [edit] laws of thermodynamics: 0) If two thermodynamic systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other. 1) Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms. In any process in an isolated system, the total energy remains the same. For a thermodynamic cycle the net heat supplied to the system equals the net work done by the system. 2) The entropy of an isolated system consisting of two regions of space, isolated from one another, each i... [More]

Hmm? This is irrelevant, fusion does not create or destroy energy. It isn't perpetual motion, nor free energy. Fusion releases vast amounts of energy when the nuclei fuse. Cold fusion is currently not considered viable purely because of the electrostatic forces which need to be overcome. Confinement and heat are seemingly necessary. However I wouldn't rule it out, we can never be 100% certain that there isn't a way. Indeed, that's what I meant when I called it "easy energy". Thanks for clarifying it further.

Ship's Cat, he wasn't talking about a fridge, he was talking about how metal stays cooler than other materials, and how that might be useful in Cold Fusion. Not being a scientist myself, I can't really do much but clarify what he was talking about. So. . . that has nothing to do with your beer and a fridge. Although, keeping in mind that metal also tends to get a lot hotter than other materials when it's in the sun, I doubt it'd have much use here. Also depends on what metal.

Ship's Cat, he wasn't talking about a fridge, he was talking about how metal stays cooler than other materials, and how that might be useful in Cold Fusion. Not being a scientist myself, I can't really do much but clarify what he was talking about. So. . . that has nothing to do with your beer and a fridge. Although, keeping in mind that metal also tends to get a lot hotter than other materials when it's in the sun, I doubt it'd have much use here. Also depends on what metal. As far as I am aware that's incorrect. Metals do not stay cooler, they instead draw heat from your body more quickly, c... [More]

As far as I am aware that's incorrect. Metals do not stay cooler, they instead draw heat from your body more quickly, creating the illusion that it is cooler than surrounding objects. Yes. Metals tend to have low specific heat capacities and high thermal conductivities. The first refers to how much heat (energy) it takes to raise a standard amount of the material by 1 degree. Things like Styrofoam, insulation, etc. have low specific heat capacities and low thermal conductivities. They rapidly reach the same temperature as their environment, but take a long time to transmit the heat across the ... [More]

Saw a programe on tv a year or so ago about a team at Oxford Uni, UK who had built a new type of reactor that heats up a hydrogen atom (or a bunch of them) and spins it round using magnetic fields, if they perfect the mehthod they will have a source of almost limitless clean, safe energy. From memory the problem was keeping the hydrogen plasma (cant remember all the tech terms) in a stable orbit, as if it becomes unstable it can fly off and vapurise holes in walls ect and casue alot of damage, they said they were 10 years or so away from a fully working, safe and tested prototype.

Saw a programe on tv a year or so ago about a team at Oxford Uni, UK who had built a new type of reactor that heats up a hydrogen atom (or a bunch of them) and spins it round using magnetic fields, if they perfect the mehthod they will have a source of almost limitless clean, safe energy. From memory the problem was keeping the hydrogen plasma (cant remember all the tech terms) in a stable orbit, as if it becomes unstable it can fly off and vapurise holes in walls ect and casue alot of damage, they said they were 10 years or so away from a fully working, safe and tested prototype. That is ``ho... [More]

That is ``hot'' fusion. They are attempting to heat up the hydrogen gas in an attempt to mimic the reactions that occur in the Sun. This tends to get more funding that ``cold'' fusion (inducing ions to fuse using non-thermal techniques); see ITER, for example. The most popular form of magnetic confinement is in a torus (see Tokamak, for example), although spherical confinement chambers are gaining popularity (I think, anyway... there is a plasma physics group who have a small Tokamak at my University, but its been a while since I've talked shop with them). Stable plasma confinement at fusion-l... [More]

I saw a horizon program where they said that all the technical problems of hot fusion had been overcome (mainly by using super cooled superconductor magnets), and that they were in the final stage of producing more energy out in a North Korean experimental plant. Yes, I heard about that. I have serious doubts that a nation that is unable to build a rocket that can't even reach Japan without breaking into pieces and falling into the ocean is able to achieve hot fusion. I also seriously doubt that they are able to make high-Tc[/sub] superconductor magnets, or that they have enough liquid helium ... [More]