Subvert Central

""New York Times, March 3, 2004
Scientists are again claiming they have made a Sun in a jar, offering perhaps a revolutionary energy source based on sonoluminescence.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists used ultrasonic vibrations to shake a jar of liquid solvent. They squeezed tiny gas bubbles in the liquid so quickly and violently that temperatures reached millions of degrees and some of the hydrogen atoms in the solvent molecules fused, producing a flash of light and energy.

....When this team of researchers made the same claim in an article in the journal Science two years ago, many scientists reacted with skepticism, even ridicule. But new experiments, using better detectors, offer more convincing data that the phenomenon is real...

....."It's getting to the point where you can't ignore it," Dr. Crum said."


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/03/scienc...&position=

http://www.aip.org/enews/physnews/2004/split/675-3.html

Quote:However, according to leading sonoluminescence theorist William Moss of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "We are all pretty sure that normal SL conditions are nowhere near fusion temperatures--typical SL temperatures don't exceed 11,000 degrees Kelvin or so, at least from theoretical estimates"---as opposed to the millions of degrees that nuclear fusion would typically require...

...However, they did not find the 10-fold increase that they expected if the reported tritium levels occurred as a result of deuterium-deuterium fusion. And they found nothing when they looked for neutrons or gamma rays being emitted in coincidence with the light pulses.


Outside researchers who have studied the Science paper have expressed very significant concerns about its validity. According to Moss, the key measurement is the 2.5 MeV neutron peak.

"If measured neutrons are thermonuclear in origin, then there must be a peak at 2.5 MeV, and measuring and reporting that peak constitutes a minimum requirement to support the claim of thermonuclear origin," he says. "Tritium production (claimed in the paper) is not sufficient evidence, since it is difficult to determine the source."

Moss rejects the conclusions of the paper based on the "lack of a properly resolved neutron peak." He says, "Extraordinary claims require unambiguous data, which they did not provide. This doesn't mean that thermonuclear neutrons from a sonoluminescence source are impossible, only that they didn't show data to support the claim."

Why is it that these amazing discoveries never have any data to back them up? It makes me really excited, then when I read the paper I realise that it's not worth wetting my pants.

Well, I'm not convinced until they can get a neutron peak at the right place to suggest thermonuclear neutrons, and separate them totally from gamma radiation.

I think that sonoluminescence is really cool and such a brilliant thing if we could use it for everyday heat engines, but there is pretty-much no way that we can get the temperature high enough (nor the pressure) to get fusion.

is it about finding the right frequency like that keanu flick?

Lata Wrote:sonoluminescence is ...

yea - i hear ya man - i cant wait to see where this is in a couple of years.
things are moving so fast right now. - seems like some life is de-evolving while others are evolving.