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Public release date: 5-Jul-2011 [ Print | E-mail | Share ] [ Close Window ] University of California - Berkeley
Hot springs microbe yields record-breaking, heat-tolerant enzyme
Federal researchers there are seeking to fuse some of the lightest atoms in the universe to study — and hopefully harness — the type of energy produced by hydrogen bombs and the sun. The tests were delayed six months while safety devices were installed to protect workers from radiation at the National Ignition Facility, a stadium-sized laboratory that contains 192 lasers trained on a target the size of a BB. The goal is to generate temperatures of more than 100 million degrees to fuse hydrogen atoms and release . Scientists describe this process, which they hope to achieve next year, as the creation of a miniature star on earth. But the $3.5 billion ignition facility, derided by some critics as taxpayer-financed science fiction, is running into new challenges that may further delay and perhaps scuttle its goal. Among those challenges is the unanticipated presence of particles that clog filters designed to prevent the escape of radioactive material.
Fusion Experiment Faces New Hurdles - NYTimes.com
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