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Scientists Create Fuel "More Dense Than The Core of the Sun"

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FelixA9
05/13/09

In reply to Scientists Create Fuel "More Dense Than The Core of the Sun"
"My main question is: How can this be a renewable energy source if you still need lots of energy to create the ultra-dense deuterium and power up those lasers?"

Yeah, I keep asking the "hydrogen is going to save the world" idiots the same thing.
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Pope John Peeps II
05/13/09

@FelixA9: See, here it's actually YOU being the idiot. Hydrogen isn't a promise of free energy. It's simply another way of making energy portable. So that you can centralize carbon emissions to powerplants which can be run efficiently, rather than having millions and millions of contained explosions running all over the country, farting out carbon dioxide.

Get it?
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Grey_Area
05/13/09

In reply to Scientists Create Fuel "More Dense Than The Core of the Sun"
So this is how they make Red Matter, right?
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Tomb: R.O.A.C.H.
05/13/09

In reply to Scientists Create Fuel "More Dense Than The Core of the Sun"
And now.. How can ROACH use this?
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
05/13/09

@Tomb: R.O.A.C.H.: To power our killer bots and run the HVAC for our Evil HQ.

Also to keep our nachos toasty warm.
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Grey_Area
05/13/09

@Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H: I'm putting ultra-dense deuterium in little costumes for my prize-winning dioramas about the life of George Washington Carver.
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icelight
05/13/09

In reply to Scientists Create Fuel "More Dense Than The Core of the Sun"
"How can this be a renewable energy source if you still need lots of energy to create the ultra-dense deuterium and power up those lasers?"

It would be a net renewable resource, as in, you get more energy out than you put in. For instance, it takes a lot of energy to mine coal, or to pump oil, but burning these produces so much that you get a net production of power. Of course, it takes utterly huge amounts of power (and time) to actually create fossil fuels, which is why they aren't renewable. The scientist seem to be saying that they think they can get more energy out of fusing this material than it takes to create it and begin the fusion.

As for it being radioactive-free? Hardly likely, as the fusion process is almost certainly going to start throwing stray neutrons around. At least, I'm basing that on the fact that current D-D fusion experiments do, and there doesn't seem to be much reason why this would be different.
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Pope John Peeps II
05/13/09

@icelight: I think they more mean that the process is radioactive-waste free. As any nuclear process cannot possibly be non-radioactive.
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chuffhoncho
05/13/09

In reply to Scientists Create Fuel "More Dense Than The Core of the Sun"
I don't really know much about space travel, but how would we get the ultra-dense deuterium from Jupiter to earth? And if we could, how much do you suppose we're currently capable of transporting at one time?
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Grey_Area
05/13/09

@chuffhoncho: I don't think it would be worthwhile pulling significant amounts of ultra-dense deuterium, or UltraDoot (pat. pending), out of Jupiter's gravity well.
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dlomax
05/13/09

@Grey_Area: R.O.A.C.H.: Why not float a power-plant on Jupiter and beam the energy out via laser to an orbital power relay?

I say why not do that because I can't be bothered to do it myself and would prefer it you took care of all the details.

PS: Also -- make me a jetpack?
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Grey_Area
05/13/09

@dlomax: A jetpack?! What happened to the hoverboard I got you for Hanukkah?
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Pope John Peeps II
05/13/09

@chuffhoncho: You see, Jupiter is far above the earth, so all we'd have to do is get an astronaut to knock a piece of jupiter off with like a hammer or something, and then it would just gracefully fall to earth because of gravity. See, it's SOOOOO simple.
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Grey_Area
05/13/09

In reply to Scientists Create Fuel "More Dense Than The Core of the Sun"
Oh yeah, your MOM is more dense than the core of the sun!

Boo-yah!
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Rasselas
05/13/09

@Grey_Area: R.O.A.C.H.: I would have suggested:

"Your mom's so fat that Swedish researchers bombard her with lasers to cause fusion!"
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dlomax
05/13/09

@Rasselas: As a response, how about, "Your mom is so fat, she's the PRODUCT of fusion -- of two other fat moms, that is."
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Grey_Area
05/13/09

@dlomax: "Yo Momma so heavy she use a Schwartzchild Radius for a belt."
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