From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Thu Feb 20 2003 - 06:14:30 MST
Hal Finney noted:
<<I think this is not a new energy source, but rather a sort of nuclear
storage battery. You use X-rays to pump up the nuclear energy levels,
and then they are stable for a very long time (years). Then you later
shine X-rays at the hafnium which couple to the excited states and force
the nuclei to drop to lower energy levels, extracting the energy>>
This nucleonic version of fission is indeed like a nuclear storage battery,
much in the same way that petroleum and its derivative, gasoline, are a
chemical storage battery, once it is refined. Something that could
potentially keep a 400lb unmanned air vehicle flying for months or years,
might supply a medium-sized city with power for a decade or two. Maybe its
hafnium-yes, uranium no? Conceivable advantage would be that hafnium might
make a so-so radiological weapon, but it appears to be, essentially, a
proliferation-proof nuclear energy technology.
Or should we use it to power cars, instead? ;-)
Mitch
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Thu Feb 20 2003 - 06:17:34 MST