Fire Up The Beam!

#93
I don’t know how far away you can see the beam. But I can tell you that i cannot see it from Alabama
I was just gonna ask the board how far away the beam can be seen.

Clearly not from Alabama, apparently. ;)

I’m roughly 20 air miles from downtown up in the foothills of Placer County. IDK how long they leave the beam on but when I went to a spot where I can see the downtown buildings of SAC (about an hour ago) I couldn’t see it.
 
#94
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I was just gonna ask the board how far away the beam can be seen.

Clearly not from Alabama, apparently. ;)

I’m roughly 20 air miles from downtown up in the foothills of Placer County. IDK how long they leave the beam on but when I went to a spot where I can see the downtown buildings of SAC (about an hour ago) I couldn’t see it.
Apparently not as strong as those used-car lot flood-lights
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
For those that didn’t read the article, this is legitimately pretty big news
I don't have an NYT login, so I don't know the specific claim as of yet, other than it came from LLNL. I'll be quite interested in reading about it, though up to now every "breakthrough" in fusion has needed a big grain of salt.
 
Hmm I don’t have a login either but it opened for me. Here is an excerpt


“Scientists studying fusion energy at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced on Tuesday that they had crossed a long-awaited milestone in reproducing the power of the sun in a laboratory.

That sparked public excitement as scientists have for decades talked about how fusion, the nuclear reaction that makes stars shine, could provide a future source of bountiful energy.

The result announced on Tuesday is the first fusion reaction in a laboratory setting that actually produced more energy than it took to start the reaction.”
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I don't have an NYT login, so I don't know the specific claim as of yet, other than it came from LLNL. I'll be quite interested in reading about it, though up to now every "breakthrough" in fusion has needed a big grain of salt.
Actually, the size of a peppercorn. Here's some more info:
U.S. touts fusion breakthrough as one of ‘most impressive scientific feats’ this century - POLITICO

The achievement at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory came when 192 high-energy lasers converged on a diamond capsule containing a cylinder about the size of a peppercorn and filled with deuterium and tritium. The lasers entered either end of the cylinder and heated the contents to over 3 million degrees Celsius.

The reaction “briefly simulating the conditions of a star,” National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Jill Hruby said.

Lab lasers had triggered fusion reactions before. But this time, the scientists managed to keep the reaction going long enough to produce three megajoules of energy, more than the two megajoules the lasers had deposited, NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Marvin Adams said at the event.

The whole reaction took less time than it takes light to travel one inch, Adams added. But that was enough to prove for the first time that it was possible to mash together atoms and release a greater amount of energy than was used to trigger the reaction.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Light the BEAM!!!
If the Kings don't immediately start selling a mini G1C model with a purple light beam coming out the top that AUTOMATICALLY LIGHTS UP WHEN THEY FIRE THE REAL ONE UP AFTER A WIN then their marketing folks should be fired, like pronto. I'd pay good money for one of those, or at least have it on my Christmas list. :)
 
If the Kings don't immediately start selling a mini G1C model with a purple light beam coming out the top that AUTOMATICALLY LIGHTS UP WHEN THEY FIRE THE REAL ONE UP AFTER A WIN then their marketing folks should be fired, like pronto. I'd pay good money for one of those, or at least have it on my Christmas list. :)
I don't know if I want the man knowing my location.