Norks 'have answer to humanity's greatest problem' The North Korean regime says that its scientists have solved most of humanity's problems by developing controlled nuclear fusion. Unfortunately this is almost certainly a lie. Nork state media reports that North Korean researchers have developed a "unique thermo-nuclear reaction device" with potential to end the human race's …
The title of this article suggested more than it could deliver.
And this has nothing to do with me not realising that Nork could be NorK, North Korean.
Oh lord no. Ahem,
Steven R
PS: How awesome would it be if they showed a working prototype, and sent the blueprints to the G20 countries? "You called us mad..." etc. Ah well, fat chance of that.
Someone smuggled a copy of Ken MacLeod's /The Execution Channel/ into the DPRK and someone there read it and thought "hmm". In this novel a consortium of the Russians, Chinese and North Koreans make a huge technological breakthrough and literally leapfrog the rest of the world (to say any more would be a spoiler).
However in the novel, they actually *have* the breakthrough technology...
Yes and no.
With a physical resource, such as an oilfileld, to go in and take it means war, conquering the territory. With pure know-how, at most all you need is one successful spy, or one defector. Often simply knowing that something really *can* be done is a large percentage of what you need to duplicate it.
One should ponder for how long the USA was able to keep the USSR from acquiring A- and H-bombs and the associated technologies. Not very long at all, even back in the stone age of surveillance technology.
I really do hope that the Norks *have* somehow got fusion power working. Realistically, it's far more likely that Fulham will win the Europa cup. (This is posted the morning after they didn't).
BTW Anyone care to ponder whether an NK-type regime could survive inventing a limitless source of cheap/free non-explosive energy? I expect that if they tried to uilize it, they'd inevitably sow the seeds of their own rapid demise. The Spanish once found a a near-infinite source of money (gold, South America). This did not advance their empire. It doomed it.
"... because it raises the question of what would happen if a totally abhorrent regime did make a breakthrough like that. What would happen? Would we have to start being nice to them or would we just go in and take it, like we did with Iraqi oil?"
So, invading a country to steal their oil makes you less abhorrent than ?
the time back that I invested in this article.
I fully expected to read about some magical nork powered device, and already had visions of busty beauties (or less attractive ladies - I'm easy) swinging their pendulous sets of chest meat over some sort of mechanical gubbins to produce power.
Meh.
Because the way that a weapon creates fusion is by applying the massive energy of a fission bomb to the material you want to fuse (Tritium I think); a controlled fission reactor just won't do it.
Fusion can be achieved, but requires a LOT of energy to start up; then you have the containment problem.
Controlling fission is a lot easier, you just need to slow the reaction down with a moderator so the energy isn't released explosively.
"Controlling fission is a lot easier, you just need to slow the reaction down with a moderator so the energy isn't released explosively."
Not quite. Moderators don't do quite what you seem to think they do. "Fast" reactors do not use them. They have been built and do work. It's a question of balancing the neutron production rate and the neutron loss rate in the core, a lot of which is set by the geometry, degree of enrichment, placement of fuel elements etc.
Uncontrolled nuclear fusion is relatively easy to achieve, compared to controlled nuclear fusion. What with not having issues of containment, radiation, etc. to deal with. I mean, you _could_ use fusion bombs to generate power, if you didn't mind being a cloud of radioactive gas.
I must refer you to The Daily Show's coverage regarding the Taeopodong-2. (I do not recall whether it was the same airing which suggested that the North Koreans planned to immobilize the American military forces with laughter by giving weapons amusing names.)
May I add my considerable disappointment resulting from the flagrantly misleading headline. It was very cruel of the Reg and I hope you are all suitably repentant. Now, don't do it again!
As for North Korea, they really are ALL completely bloody bonkers! New stars in the sky? Endless power source? What next - the answer to life, the universe and everything???
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Given the embargo on and dearth of reliable information coming out of North Korea, how would any of you know of what is being achieved in any such fields of Fabulous Energy.
Now please sit up straight and take you daily dose of mind numbing programming from the makers of the all new Nick and Dave puppet show, whilst elsewhere in Much Better Beta Worlds are Perception Boffins beaver away in Secret crossing swords and destroying perverse imperial dreams of global domination with Flash Cash, with their crossing of ts and dotting of is and their Sweet and Sticky Intelligence Community Raves against the new Pairing of Slick Ranters working to Maintain and Repair the Subversive Establishment Model for Ignorance to Flourish in an Age of Limitless Available Knowledge.
Pretty soon should those who would Play such Dorks realise that their Future is Assured and All Assets Insured by such SMARTer Technologies and/or AIMethodologies as would so easily be able to Crash every Old System based upon Items/Ideas which have No Real Physical Worth but an unbelievably High Virtual Perception Value.
Which is an Interesting Great Game to be Registering for Play, whenever Both every Wrong and Right Move Destroys that which Plagues the Planet with Fear and Loathing Death in Destruction in many Earthly Realities, whilst in Tandem and Parallel is a Sublime Work in Constructive Progress for Greater Games Mind Control in Other, Much More Enterprising, Virtual Realities, which are Actually Current Testing Programs for the Fusion of Intellectual Property Sources and Resources with AI Control of Unlimited Energy Potential and Pin Point Accurate Delivery.
Which if that is Norkish, would render the Dorks as Relevant to the Future as Dodos and Dinosaurs are to the Present.
Even the fusion reaction in a bomb is endothermic (hence sucks).
It's actually a fission-fusion-fission bomb - a small fission bomb kicks off a fusion reaction which is used to enhance the detonation a much larger second fission bomb.
One day we'll get more energy out (without the bang), but it wont be NorKs that do it.
That you all thought of boobs, and I thought it be another Lewis special on something mighty important.
All humanities problems are over, and you lot complain of the lack of female curvature in the announcement. Still, if these bold claims of the N-Koreans cannot be backed by proof of evidence, then at least (for the love of science!) can we get a Playmobil reenactment of the events leading to this remarkable discovery?
Would it in any way spoil this story if I pointed out that nuclear fusion is actually fairly easy to achieve, and several people have built working fusion devices. And I don't mean bombs. Agreed, there is currently no possibility of these reactors producing any useful power, but they do produce considerable quantities of neutrons and, if I remember correctly, a number have been built just for that purpose. Therer is also a thriving amateur "tabletop fusion" network. These people are not building multi ton Tokamak reactors but small, literally tabletop devices which really do fuse hydrogen, as proven by the production of the aforementioned neutrons.
Most of you will have moved on to other topics... but with all the innuendos floating about here, I was left with a question: What, or how, would you feel if it was the guys who had "Norks" and not us women. I don't mean moobs either, but a real lactating pair??
BTW, pendulous is not such a great thing. Small, pert and immune to gravity are the best. You don't have to wear a bra then ;-) .
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