Man builds Nuclear Reactor in his garage

[One-23 Profile]

Cool beanz

Man builds Nuclear Reactor in his garage to inspire kids with science

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In a quiet Federal Way garage, a group of students is getting the chance to do something they’d never get away with at school – build and run a thermonuclear reactor.

The project aims to reimagine what science class might look like, and nudge dozens of kids into careers in science and technology.

It started with a guy named Carl Greninger, and his realization that tight budgets and fear of lawsuits have pushed out much of the fun, dangerous stuff from high school science labs, leaving “nothing sharper than silly putty.

"I walked into a classroom and I saw a science teacher. And he had a string and a paper cup. And he says, well, we're studying physics, and I looked back at the kids and I saw the word 'lame' tattooed across their foreheads. And I said, I can do better than this in my garage,” he says.

Carl's secret lab

So he decided to do exactly that. Greninger is a Microsoft IT manager, and doesn’t have any nuclear engineering experience per se. But he settled on building a nuclear fusion reactor in his house, and inviting teenagers to help.

Greninger is a lanky guy in his white lab coat and glasses, a touch of mischief in his eyes. His flair for the dramatic is on display as you enter the reactor room through a hidden door, disguised as shelving in his garage.

Inside is the Farnsworth Fusor, a relatively simple reactor dating from the 1960s that uses electricity to fuse molecules of a hydrogen isotope. It’s about the size of a refrigerator, and since Greninger bankrolled the thing himself (he declines to cite a figure, but says it was well into six-figure territory), he retained creative control. As a result, it looks exactly as cool as you would hope it would be: shiny chrome, purple lighting, lots of those yellow-and-black radiation hazard signs. And yes, it does have some duct tape.

Beneath a one-ton shield sits the actual reactor, which resembles a motorcycle engine. Inside, high voltage creates what's called a negative potential well – think of it almost like a little black hole. It pulls molecules from all sides toward a point, and some of them slam together hard enough to fuse.

“And that's pure plasma at about 300 million degrees Fahrenheit,” Greninger says. “It's actually hotter than the surface of the Sun”

Full article http://www.kplu.org/post/why-are-kids-f ... =FBKPLU156

[Webcat Profile]

Liked this story a lot!

A nuclear reactor in a garage! - wouldn't the world be a lot duller without characters like this?

But probably a bit safer........

[Clearized1 Profile]

Gr8 post, and awesome video OP.

I was almost certain when I clicked on the link that I would see Emmett Brown, and a Mr. Fusion.

I wonder how long it'll be before these are installed in homes/business's.