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can't say I've ever accomplished anything so cool in my teenage years..

Quote:

Teenager Thiago Olsen posted this picture of his homemade fusion device on a blog page for other amatuer physicists to admire.A high school senior has achieved nuclear fusion in his parents’ basement.


When he's not running track and cross country at Stoney Creek High School, 17-year-old Thiago Olsen can be found tinkering with items such as high-voltage X-ray transformers, diffusion pumps, and neutron bubble dosimeters. Most of the devices were scrounged from eBay or built from scraps and pieces picked up at the local hardware store.

This teen's dream of fusing two hydrogen atoms by crashing them together to form a single helium nucleus has finally paid off. The proof lies in the images he has published showing a classic "star in a jar" pattern, indicating the presence of neutron bubbles suspended in plasma, the traditional by-product of nuclear fusion.

It's “kind of like the holy grail of physics,” Olsen told reporters from the Detroit Free Press. His accomplishment was recorded by the Web site Fusor.net, where he has been officially declared the 18th member of the Neutron Club, an elite group of private individuals worldwide to have successfully "operated a neutron-producing fusor or fusion system" of their own manufacture.

Some parents might be nervous about the safety of a home-made device designed to create plasma at a temperature of around 200 million degrees -- several times hotter than the core of the sun. Earlier this month, Michigan Department of Health officials inspected the apparatus. "They were impressed, and it checked out," Olsen said.

The high school senior's goal of competing at the May 2007 International Science Fair in Albuquerque still has a flicker of a chance. Olsen was a finalist at the 50th Science & Engineering Fair of Metropolitan Detroit last week, but his entry "Neutron Activation Using an Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion Reactor," will need to take top honors at the Michigan Science Fair in Flint on March 31 to keep his hopes alive.

Great!!! Just Great!!!......

I gotta live with a Nuclear Power Plant within 30 km and now i gotta worry about some highschool student practising nuclear Fusion next door now too??? :ph34r:

You can get nuclear fusion required parts off ebay? ... ...... ............. That's all I gotta say to that..

And what's the difference between Fission and Fusion? I used to know, and I can near guarantee if I google it, I'll end up more confused then I was at the start of searching..

:D

But... can it generate 1.21 Gigawatts of power AND fit inside a DeLorean?

NOS2Go4Me,Mar 27 2007, 08:05 PM Wrote:But... can it generate 1.21 Gigawatts of power AND fit inside a DeLorean?
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Not until he designs the flux capacitor :lol:

Of course this kid just might do it too :ph34r:

NefCanuck

ex1z7,Mar 27 2007, 07:24 PM Wrote:And what's the difference between Fission and Fusion? [right][snapback]232213[/snapback][/right]

Fusion is now called "Taurus" for those who don't know. :lol: :rolleyes: . sorry had to.

Anyway fusion joins particles together and there is some left over mass/energy. In fission they are sperated apart and there is a bit of left over mass/energy. In either case mass and energy are interchangable, mass =energy (E=Mc^2). Fusion is more easily controlled and considered "safer".

And so that everyone sleeps well, be aware that McMaster has a reactor on campus as does UofT (downtown). If that doesnt keep you awake at night, know that they let people like me do experiments with it in the past.

Sweet dreams <3 :lol: :rolleyes:

where did he get the uranium from?

Uranium can be scavenged from smoke detectors. You need upwards of 500 to do anything.

Hope that guy isn't interested in ricin' Honda's

2001 ZTS,Mar 28 2007, 01:24 AM Wrote:

ex1z7,Mar 27 2007, 07:24 PM Wrote:And what's the difference between Fission and Fusion? [right][snapback]232213[/snapback][/right]

Fusion is now called "Taurus" for those who don't know. :lol: :rolleyes: . sorry had to.

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thats the Five Hundred that is called the Taurus now.

I don't beleive you need uranium to produce a fusion reaction.

but it does say its a "nuclear" fusion reactor

j3rt,Mar 27 2007, 08:51 PM Wrote:Uranium can be scavenged from smoke detectors.  You need upwards of 500 to do anything.
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not to be an ass but there is'nt uranium in smoke detectors... it's a man made isotope called Americium which is collected when plutonium 241 decays... they use to use another element too but I forget what it was...

I really wish I went into physics,,, I l <3 Math...

Good on that kid!!! I'd love to see that thing... I'd love to build it...

FocusGuy7476,Mar 27 2007, 09:25 PM Wrote:thats the Five Hundred that is called the Taurus now.

I don't beleive you need uranium to produce a fusion reaction.
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That is correct, on both counts.

Fusion = taking two smaller atoms and smashing them together to release energy. Results in the creation of one larger atom.

Fission = taking a large atom and splitting it apart to release energy. Creates two smaller atoms.

Being that I work at a nuclear plant as a Plant Operator, I will throw some input into this. The aboved mentioned universites do have experiements at their campuses, but for obvious reasons, do not accurately represent a true reactor, but there are a lot of good things there. However, it is a great way to learn before going into the industry.
As far as fusion, it is meant to be the next cheap electricity. Basically, if you can take 2 hydrogen atoms to collide at neutron speeds (before thermalization), they will bond to produce helium, and give off neutrons, radiation, and energy. Now, for better results, it is thought that using deuterium will be better than hydrogen, but the current market value for a 200 gallon drum of deuterium is around $70,000 Canadian.
Fission, is taking a heavy atom, we'll use uranium 235 as it is naturally occuring and used in all CANDU reactors. The atrom is bombarded witha neutron, turning into U-236 (very unstable) the atom breaks apart into two smaller atoms, 3 neutrons, gamma, beta, alpha, and a huge amount of energy. These neutrons move on to the next U-235 atoms and do the same thing. So you can see that we started with 1 reaction, then 3, 9, 81 etc....

About the UofT one:

http://chem-eng.toronto.edu/~slopoke/

I see on Google that it may have been decomissioned, since I was there, not sure though?

D-Dub,Mar 28 2007, 03: Wrote:but it does say its a "nuclear" fusion reactor
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A nuclear reaction does not have to give off fission products. We are just used to the concept of fission. Basically, nuclear is just refering to any reaction that pertains to the nucleus of an atom.

If you wanted uranium, just go find old street signs and old watches and get the paint off. The reason the paint lite up was because the uranium gave off light when exposed to certain frequencies of light (halogen) Unfortunetly, many watch makers died of throat cancer many years ago. They would lick the end of the wick, dip it in paint, and paint the face of the watch.

And as far as living within 30km of a nuclear plant... who cares. Anyone who lives close to a coal plant knows all too well that during start up and shutdowns, they have to go wash off their cars and homes because of the black soot that magically finds its way over the neighbouring towns. And we all know what coal dust/soot does when it gets in your system. My brother picked up more radiation than me last year. Why? he took quite a few trips on planes. It's amazing how a pilot has to have a higher administrative dose for radiation than a nuclear plant operator.
I guess we better stop people from flying.... It's a far greater radiation hazard to the general public.

D-Dub,Mar 27 2007, 09: Wrote:where did he get the uranium from?
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He didn't need Uranium..

2001 ZTS,Mar 28 2007, 08:11 AM Wrote:About the UofT one:

http://chem-eng.toronto.edu/~slopoke/

I see on Google that it may have been decomissioned, since I was there, not sure though?
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I bet it's decomissioned... it's gotta be old

It's a good thing he didn't have to use uranium, that stuff is getting pretty expensive. I hear it's price has risen 900% in the past decade (or something). Heck, in the past 12 months it's doubled in price.

It's ashame because it's ruin my business plan of uranium baths for the rich and famous.