Wayne, here's the headline...Crystal power Palmtop Nuclear Fusion Device Invented By Michael Schirber LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 27 April 2005 01:00 pm ET The nuclear reaction that powers the Sun has been reproduced in a pocket-sized device, scientists announced today. Researchers have for years tried to harness nuclear fusion to power the world. But its cousin, nuclear fission -- the breaking apart of atoms -- is the only method so far commercially viable. The latest invention is not in the same league as efforts to build complex commercial reactors. The new device creates a relatively small number of reactions, and requires more energy to operate than it produces. The Real Deal (AP) - Previous claims of tabletop fusion have been met with skepticism and even derision by physicists. In one of the most notable cases, Dr. B. Stanley Pons of the University of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of Southampton University in England shocked the world in 1989 when they announced that they had achieved so-called cold fusion at room temperature. Their work was discredited after repeated attempts to reproduce it failed. Fusion experts noted that the new UCLA experiment is credible because, unlike the 1989 work, it did not violate basic principles of physics. "This doesn't have any controversy in it because they're using a tried and true method,'' said David Ruzic, professor of nuclear and plasma engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "There's no mystery in terms of the physics.'' -- Associated Press But the configuration is so small and simple that its creators think it may inspire unforeseen applications. "I certainly find it interesting that you can heat a cubic centimeter crystal in your hand, then plunge it in cold water and it will cause nuclear fusion," Seth Putterman from the University of California Los Angeles told LiveScience. Putterman's lay description greatly oversimplifies how the compact apparatus works. Specifically, Putterman and collaborators heat a pyroelectric crystal, lithium tantalite, from minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit to plus 45 in a matter of minutes. This generates an electrical charge -- 100,000 volts -- across the tiny crystal, which is housed in a chamber filled with deuterium gas, a heavy form of hydrogen. The high voltage is focused onto a needle-thin tip, which strips electrons from nearby deuterium nuclei and then accelerates them at a solid target containing deuterium. When two deuterium nuclei collide together at high speed, they fuse to form helium. The Sun also fuses atoms in thermonuclear reactions that create light and heat. The byproduct of the newly discovered lab reaction is a particle called the neutron. The scientists detect about 1,000 neutrons per second. Because neutrons are so penetrating, Putterman said that a hand-held neutron source might one-day be used to do geologic surveys or to look into cargo containers for nuclear devices. "Current neutron generators are extremely cumbersome," Putterman said. "They are about as big as a dentists X-ray machine, so you canÂt carry them into the field." Pyroelectric crystals could also provide a beam of ions for use as a microthruster in a miniature spacecraft. The research is described in the April 28 issue of the journal Nature.

Why on earth would I take him out for coffee to discuss it? Because our society has gotten entirely too "sue-happy" and it sickens me when everyone seems to think that thier first course of action needs to be taking legal action. I understand, you are not advising me to contact a lawyer, but by the tone of your response, you seem to imply that I should want to squash him like a bug. (Okay, while I might fantasize about that, it's certainly not a very grown-up response!) I should mention that since we moved out, aside from the security deposit thing, he's made efforts at continuing to be friendly with us-- always waves, always says hello, etc. Over the summer, he even tried to give us an electric hedge trimmer that I'm sure he got free somewhere (our properties are separated by a hedgerow-- and yes, my husband is meticulous in maintaining it, by hand). So it's not like he's going out of his way to avoid us. I would like to maintain that degree of civility if at all possible. Confronting him directly and in person, as far as I can see, is the most straightforward, honest, non-cowardly way to go about it. And since I want to do it on neutral ground (neither his house nor ours) and in a public place (lessen any potential for a scene), the local diner for coffee seems to make sense. I have documentation on our state landlord-tenant laws that I intend to bring with me. If he can look at that and still refuse to return the money, then small-claims court would be a possibility.

Joe I can definitely understand a time for a mental health pause. Quite a while back I absolutely tired of certain members attempting to take over the forum. It was like a contest as to how many threads, be they simple or complex issues, they could answer between them, who could profess the most knowledge, and who could do it the fastest. No one else had a chance. The newer members who were happy to have an answer so they could participate were afraid to do so. If anyone disagreed with one of the self-anointed you had to be prepared for flaming. Many members just left or began to only lurk. The behind-the-scene communicating was prevalent. As reluctantly at that time dubbed the "social conscious" of the forum I tried to mediate both overtly and privately. When the roof fell in I posted a couple of responses that were not truly me, and I was not proud of. I had to go on sabbatical. I was even banished to Disney by Spike, and only allowed to return after iVillage acquired the site and my friend, Pooh Bear, contacted the powers-that-be and spoke up in my behave. So I understand if you have to get away, and I do encourage it. Just let out the bread crumbs so you can find the way back when you are ready. DA

Little girls are cute and small only to adults. To one another they are not cute. They are life-sized. Margaret Atwood Wow, she is a person of many many opinions!