Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory claim to have achieved the seemingly impossible: generate more energy with a fusion reaction than they put into it, potentially paving the way for a truly environmentally friendly and safe source of power.
Their experiment, which involved using the “world’s largest and highest energy laser system” at Livermore’s National Ignition Facility to blast light at small capsules of deuterium-tritium fuel, generated 20 percent more energy than the amount required to power the system.
Despite the modest energy output — the system generated enough power to boil around two to three kettles — the researchers are boldly predicting that it could represent a major turning point in the quest to turn fusion energy into a reality.
The Kardashev Scale has become a standardized way of classifying (hypothetical) advanced civilizations. The lowest rank, Type 1, is still way ahead of us — but by how much? When will we achieve Type 1 status and exactly how could we plausibly do so? In this video, we go through some estimates of when humanity might become Type 1, and in particular what kind of energy sources we could harness to achieve this feat.
► Kardashev (1964), “Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations”, Soviet Astronomy, 8217: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1964SvA… ► Michio Kaku video clip from BigThink: https://youtu.be/7NPC47qMJVg. ► Wind map movie credit to Rufinoman and earth.nullschool.net: https://youtu.be/cj2JHsQUoRs. ► Wind energy calculation based off Smil (2004), “Inherent limits of renewable energies“ ► References for the 3.7TW figure for tidal energy dissipation are: Cartwright 1993 (Theory of ocean tides with application to altimetry, in Satellite Altimetry in Geodesy and Oceanography, edites by R. Rummel and F. Sanso, pp. 99–141, Springer-Verlag, New York), Ray 1994 (Tidal energy dissipation: Observations from astronomy, geodesy, and oceanography, in, The Oceans, edited by S. Majumdaret al., pp. 171–185, Pa. Acad. of Sci., Easton, Pa.), Kagan & Sundermann 1996 (Kagan Dissipation of tidal energy paleotides, and evolution of the Earth-Moon system, Adv. Geophys., 38, pp. 179–266) ► Solar video comes from NASA SDO and GSFC: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12706 ► Learn more about the Carno cycle here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnot_cycle. ► Learn more about the planetary equilibrium calculation here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_equilibrium_temperature. ► Tidal power map comes from Gunn & Stock-Williams (2012): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148112001310 ► Outro music by Thomas Bergersen “Final Frontier”: http://www.thomasbergersen.com. ► Columbia University Department of Astronomy: http://www.astro.columbia.edu. ► Cool Worlds Lab website: http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu.
Backwards through time? We travel forwards every day, but traveling back could let us change our past, visit old friends, or manipulate the timeline to our benefit… Although our knowledge of space and time remains incomplete, we can still use what we know to consider possible time machines. But what kind of paradoxes would this entail and how can we resolve them? Join us today on a special journey through time.
An educational video written and presented by Professor David Kipping.
This video is based on research conducted at the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University, New York. You can now support our research program directly here: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support.
All music used is licensed by SoundStripe.com or through Creative Commons:
It reached speeds greater than Mach 5, maybe even Mach 20.
The U.S. Air Force has successfully completed the test of its full prototype operational hypersonic missile at the Elgin Air Force Base off the Southern California coast on December 9, a press release said. The hypersonic missile, dubbed Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), met all objectives of the test flight.
Designed and developed by Lockheed Martin, ARRW, an air-to-ground missile, is a boost-glide vehicle that can strike “fixed, high-value and time-sensitive targets”, as per the press release. The missile can be carried under the wing of an aircraft such as the B-52 bomber.
A Dutch entrepreneur is helping to fight climate change rather unexpectedly — by using cryptocurrency mining to grow tulips!
In a modern twist, the Dutch are using bitcoin mining to reap an age-old bounty — tulips! Known for centuries as one of their most iconic cash crops, these beloved flowers now have another purpose in Holland: powering cryptocurrency.
The idea is so promising that even philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb has compared bitcoin mining in greenhouses to his concept of the “black swan” event. Despite the comparisons to Tulipmania, Koning believes that Dutch agriculturalists could benefit greatly from bitcoin mining in the years ahead.
Even though the cryptocurrency sector is currently facing a major downfall – from $16,300 per unit to $68,000 in 2021, De Groot is not worried.
This new breakthrough opens the door to limitless clean energy.
The time has finally come. Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are the first in the world to demonstrate net energy production from nuclear fusion.
In other words, theirs was the first ever nuclear fusion experiment to produce more energy than was required to run the experiment in the first place.
Researchers achieved the milestone, also known as fusion ignition, at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) during a controlled fusion experiment last Monday, Dec. 5, according to a statement from the US Department of Energy (DOE). They waited for peer-review results before revealing the results to the world.
It could reduce fuel costs by a fifth and pollution.
Edinburgh-based Skyrora is a company aiming for many firsts. It wants to be the first company to accomplish an orbital launch from U.K. soil but is likely to end up being known as the first company that converts unrecyclable waste plastic into rocket fuel.
With the recent completion of the Artemis I mission, humanity is well on its way to setting up a settlement on the Moon and now has Mars in its sights. As our goals become more ambitious, we also need larger rockets that can take us to faraway destinations. However, rocket launches require tons of fuel and produce larger amounts of carbon emissions.
The private space firm has had another record-breaking year.
SpaceX has already had an astronomical year. And now, the private space company is offering to sell insider shares at a price that would raise its valuation to roughly $140 billion.
Dust devils have played crucial roles in Mars rover missions.
Scientists analyzed the sound recordings of a Martian dust devil traveling across Mars’ ancient lakebed, the Jezero crater, for the first time. The researchers carried out an analysis of multi-sensor data that suggested the dust devil was more than 118 meters (387 feet) tall. As per a press statement, the findings may improve our understanding of surface changes, dust storms, and climate variability on Mars, which may have implications for space exploration.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The researchers carried out an analysis of multi-sensor data that suggested the dust devil was more than 118 meters (387 feet) tall. As per a press statement, the findings may improve our understanding of surface changes, dust storms, and climate variability on Mars, which may have implications for space exploration.
A hidden mechanism for achieving glides of hundreds of feet is revealed by computational modelling.
Scientists are currently thinking of ways to create robots resembling the gliding motion of flying snakes, according to a study published today (Dec .13) in Physics of Fluids.
