1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,959 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works and I love all things tech. And 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: in our last episode, I described how nuclear fission reactors work. 6 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,319 Speaker 1: There are several different kinds of nuclear fission reactors, but 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: they all depend upon the process of radioactive decay and fission. 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: And that's when you have a heavy atom that splits 9 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: into smaller atoms after some sort of process such as 10 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: absorbing and incoming neutron, and as a result, it releases 11 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: energy as a byproduct. That energy can then be used 12 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: to heat up water into steam and drive a steam 13 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: turbine to generate electricity. So listen to the last episode 14 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: for a full rundown of that. But now we're gonna 15 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: turn our focus to fusion. Now, with fusion, two or 16 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: more lighter atoms are fused together to form a heavier atom, 17 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: and they release a lot of energy in the process, 18 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: more energy than you would get from a fission reaction. 19 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: And rather than relying on heavy radioactive isotopes like uranium 20 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: two thirty five or plutonium two nine, is fuel you 21 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: would be using really light atoms that aren't themselves necessarily radioactive, 22 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: But doing so isn't as easy as it sounds. Fusion 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:33,919 Speaker 1: is the process through which stars emit energy, like stars 24 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: in the galaxy, not on Hollywood Boulevard. The Sun is 25 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: basically an enormous fusion reactor, and the Sun is massive. 26 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: How massive you might ask, Well, if you look at 27 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: our solar system, and if you add up all the 28 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: mass represented inside that solar system, the Sun would account 29 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: for nine nine point eight six per cent of all 30 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: of that mass. All of the planets, moons, asteroids, and 31 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: other material would make up less than one per cent 32 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: of the mass of the solar system. One million earths 33 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: could fit inside the Sun. The Sun has a diameter 34 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: of one million, six four kilometers or more than eight 35 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: hundred sixty seven thousand miles, and most of the sun, 36 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: like sevent of it, is made out of hydrogen. Most 37 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: of the remaining mass is helium, and the process of 38 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: fusion inside the Sun's core turns hydrogen into helium. It 39 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: fuses hydrogen together and forms helium as a result at 40 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: a temperature of millions of degrees. According to the song 41 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: why does the sun shine which was made popular by 42 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: They Might Be Giants. However, I should point out that 43 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: song also has some inaccuracies, as we would no longer 44 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: say the Sun is a mass of incandescent gas, which 45 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: is why they Might be Giants. Eventually revised the song 46 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: with an updated verse and called why does the Sun 47 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: really shine and says the sun is a miasma of 48 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: incandescent plasma. But let's move on to understand solar fusion, 49 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,359 Speaker 1: we need to know how stars form. And yes, then 50 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,359 Speaker 1: this actually ends up being really important because it illustrates 51 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: the parameters necessary to make fusion work. So before you 52 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: have a star, you've got clouds of dust and gas 53 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: out in space, just floating around in the same general area. 54 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: Then you get some sort of gravity disturbance, which could 55 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: be caused by any number of things, such as a supernova. 56 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: This ends up causing some of that gas and dust 57 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: to clump together, and the particles are starting to move 58 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: closer and closer in with each other. And as all 59 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: this mass moves closer together, the force of gravity begins 60 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: to pull them in more tightly. You know, gravity depends 61 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: upon mass and distance, so as this mass gets concentrated, 62 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: it starts to create a gravitational pull gas it's drawn 63 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: inward into the core of this mass, and as the 64 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: pressure increases from the gravity pulling things inward, the mass 65 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: begins to heat up and the clump then begins to rotate. 66 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: This heat starts to move stuff around, and there's rotation 67 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 1: in the universe anyway, so you get some rotation of 68 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 1: the mass of stuff, and this starts to flatten out 69 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: into a disc. That process actually draws in more dust 70 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: and gas that gets drawn inward and the mass continues 71 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: to heat up. Now skip ahead about a million years. 72 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: You've done a million years of this process where this 73 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: disc has continuously been sucking up more dust and gas 74 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: through gravitational pull and heating up over and over more 75 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: and more, and the core of the disc has become 76 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: a dense structure that we would call a proto star. Now, 77 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: proto stars can turn into full blown stars, or they 78 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: might not. It depends all on how much matter is around, 79 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: how much mass can they accumulate. So if there's enough 80 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: mass in the form of gas and dust, the protostar 81 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: will pull it inward heat up even more, and once 82 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: the temperature hits around seven million degrees kelvin which is 83 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: equal to about twelve point six million fahrenheit or nearly 84 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 1: seven million celsius. Fusion will begin. Hydrogen atoms will be 85 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: stripped of their electrons because they have far too much energy, 86 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: and the intense temperature and pressure will cause them to 87 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: fuse together to form helium atoms, and that process releases energy. 88 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: The nuclear fusion creates a strong outward pressure, so if 89 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: there were no other boundaries on this system, the protostar 90 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: would just expand to the point where it dissipates. However, 91 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 1: there's still that incredible gravitational pull that counteracts the expansion 92 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: from nuclear fusion, and the young star will still pull 93 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: in more material. If the protostar collects a sufficient amount 94 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: of mass, the temperature will remain hot enough to sustain fusion, 95 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: and the protostar will release a jet of gas called 96 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: a bipolar flow. That flow will push away gas and 97 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: dust from the star. Some of that stuff could potentially 98 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: clump together to form stuff like planets and moons, But 99 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: if the protostar doesn't accumulate enough mass, the protostar will 100 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: not become a fully fledged star. Instead will turn into 101 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 1: what is called a brown dwarf. So we see that 102 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: fusion occurs under intense temperatures and intense pressures. The same 103 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: is true if we want to create fusion on Earth. 104 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: So what is actually going on with a fusion reaction? 105 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: I mean, I know that we take two atoms of 106 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: hydrogen and we push them together real hard in a 107 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: very high temperature, high pressure environment, and we get helium. 108 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: But how does that release energy, especially after you need 109 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: so much inergy to make it happen in the first place. Well, 110 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: I'm going to give a very simplistic answer to this, 111 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: but please know that in reality, the real answer, if 112 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: you really boil it down, it's ridiculously complicated. So this 113 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: is a very high level look at what is going on, 114 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: But to go into more detail would require a very 115 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: deep understanding nuclear physics. I frankly do not possess a 116 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: deep understanding of nuclear physics. I have a cursory understanding, 117 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: but I can sort of explain from a very very 118 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: general level. So fusion involves binding those two lighter atoms 119 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: to make a heavier atom. So let's say we've got 120 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: atoms number one and atom number two, and we combine 121 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: them together and we get atom number three. However, we 122 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: see that atom number three's mass is not the same 123 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: as if we added up the mass of atoms one 124 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: and two together. Right, So if we said that the 125 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: mass of atom one is one and the massive atom 126 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: two is one, the massive atom three might actually end 127 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: up being one point eight, but not too so how 128 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: is that possible? After all, matter, just like energy, cannot 129 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: be created or destroyed. Ah, but you can convert it. 130 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: And this is where a real Einstein comes into play. 131 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: His name was Einstein. Einstein's famous equation E equals mc 132 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: squared tells us that if you were to convert mass 133 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: into energy, the amount of energy you would get would 134 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: be you take you take a mass, and you multiply 135 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: that times the speed of light squared. And the speed 136 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 1: of light is a really big number, like a huge number, 137 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: and then you've just gone and squared it. You multiplied 138 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: that huge number by itself. Then you take that even 139 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: bigger number and multiply that by however much stuff you 140 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: have the mass of the stuff, and that tells you 141 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: how much energy would be produced. It is an enormous 142 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:58,679 Speaker 1: amount of energy represented in a very tiny amount of mass. 143 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: So the missing mass from this fusion process isn't really missing, 144 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: it's converted from mass to energy, and that is why 145 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: fusion reactions are so powerful. The amount of mass lost 146 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: in the fusion process is tiny, but even so that 147 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: generates an enormous amount of energy. Now, like I said, 148 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: there's an overly simple way of describing what is going on. 149 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: We can get into quantum mechanics, we can get into 150 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: nuclear physics, and I would be totally lost. And so 151 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: there are a lot of details that I am glossing over, 152 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: but at least gives a hint as to why fusion 153 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: power is so tantalizing because it could potentially produce so 154 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: much energy we could put to use in doing things 155 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: like creating electricity. But there are other reasons why fusion 156 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,199 Speaker 1: is really attractive as well, and I'll go into those 157 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 1: in just a moment, but first let's take a quick 158 00:09:49,760 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: break to thank our sponsor. So here's the idea for 159 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,679 Speaker 1: a nuclear fusion reactor. You would start with some isotopes 160 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: of hydrogen. Now I mentioned isotopes in the previous episode, 161 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: but just to catch you up in case you haven't 162 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,959 Speaker 1: heard it, isotopes are whord we use to describe atoms 163 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: of the same element, but those atoms have different number 164 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: of neutrons from each other. The number of protons has 165 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: to remain the same for these atoms, because otherwise you 166 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: would have a totally different element. But neutrons have a 167 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:28,959 Speaker 1: neutral charge. They do not affect the chemical properties of 168 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,719 Speaker 1: the element, but they do change the atomic mass of 169 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: the atoms. The two isotopes of hydrogen most frequently used 170 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: for hydrogen fusion reactions are deuterium and tritium. Now first, 171 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:44,719 Speaker 1: before I talk about deuterium and tritium, let me talk 172 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:49,239 Speaker 1: about protium. That's hydrogen one. That's the most common isotope 173 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: of hydrogen. It consists of a single proton and an electron, 174 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 1: no neutrons, and protium makes up about nine of all 175 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: the hydrogen and found on Earth. Most of that hydrogen, 176 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:06,600 Speaker 1: by the way, is locked in with other stuff, hydrocarbons 177 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 1: in particular. Then you have deuterium. Deuterium has one proton 178 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: and one neutron in the nucleus, and it has one 179 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: electron orbiting the nucleus. So it's like protium, excepted has 180 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: a neutron. So some of the hydrogen in the water 181 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: on Earth is deuterium. Like one atom out of every 182 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 1: six thousand, five hundred hydrogen atoms or so, then you 183 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: have tritium that is hydrogen three. It has one proton, 184 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 1: two neutrons, and one electron. Now, tritium can occur in 185 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: very trace amounts on Earth in the atmosphere, but it 186 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:48,320 Speaker 1: is exceedingly rare. It's typically only found in the tiniest 187 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: amounts in the atmosphere after hydrogen atoms have interacted with 188 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: cosmic rays, so there's no easy way of getting hold 189 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:00,439 Speaker 1: of it. But we can tots make tritium ourselves. That 190 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: does involve irradiating other stuff, so I don't recommend taking 191 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 1: it on as a d I Y project. Also, tritium 192 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: itself is radioactive. It has a half life of about 193 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: ten years, so tritium, while while deuterium is not radioactive, 194 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 1: tritium is. Fusion reactors would probably have to rely upon 195 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: deuterium tritium reactions, which would create a helium four atom 196 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 1: and a neutron. Now, if we could manage deuterium deuterium 197 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 1: reactions just fusing to deuterium atoms together, that would be 198 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: for the best because that would produce a helium three 199 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 1: isotope plus a neutron, and the results would be preferable 200 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: to the deuterium tritium. Because deuterium occurs naturally on Earth 201 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: means we don't have to make it. We can actually 202 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: harvest it from the oceans if we wanted to. Plus, 203 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: deuterium isn't radioactive, tritium is, and the reaction would yield 204 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: more energy than a deuterium tritium reaction. But on the 205 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 1: downs side, the amount of energy we would need to 206 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: initiate a deuterium deuterium reaction is so great that it 207 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: is prohibitive right now and possibly always will be. We 208 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: just don't have the capability of creating that. Helium four, 209 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: by the way, UH consists of two protons and two neutrons. 210 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: Helium three is an isotope that only has one neutron 211 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: with those two protons. So where's the problem. We know 212 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: what's happening with fusion, but why can't we make it 213 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,160 Speaker 1: a reliable reactor? Why can't we make a fusion reactor 214 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,559 Speaker 1: right now that produces more energy than it requires to operate? Now, 215 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: first you have to create the conditions that allow fusion 216 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: to happen in the first place. Fusing nuclei together means 217 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: you have to overcome the repulsive force you encounter when 218 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: you try to smush together two particles with the same charge, 219 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: and by repulsive, I don't mean they're disgusting. I mean 220 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 1: they repel each other. Like if you take two magnets 221 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: and you try and put the north end of each 222 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: magnet next to each other, you'll feel them resist that, 223 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: they'll push against each other because like charge repels, like 224 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: opposite charges attract, So a positively charged particle will attract 225 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 1: a negatively charged one, but the same charge repels and 226 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:18,439 Speaker 1: to positively charged particles like protons, are going to resist 227 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: getting smushed together. They repel one another. You have to 228 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: overcome that tendency, so you have to heat up the 229 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 1: hydrogen to millions of degrees kelvin. That amount of energy 230 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: will strip the electrons away from the hydrogen atoms, turning 231 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: the atoms into nuclei, which would make a protium just 232 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,800 Speaker 1: become a proton all by itself, but deuterium, you would 233 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: have a proton and a neutron together, and hydrogen would 234 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: change from gas form into plasma. Plasma is the most 235 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: plentiful form of matter in the universe, because again that's 236 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: what stars are made of, and we've already established how 237 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: massive stars can be keep in mind, the Sun is 238 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: not the biggest kind of star we've ever seen, so 239 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: it's the most plentiful stuff. It's essentially an ionized gas, 240 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 1: meaning that has free roaming part of electrons and nuclei 241 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,600 Speaker 1: inside of it. Now, to get hydrogen to those temperatures, 242 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: to heat up hydrogen enough to turn it into a plasma, 243 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 1: we use powerful technologies and typically we use stuff like 244 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: lasers or microwaves and ion particles to heat up the 245 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: material to a temperature high enough where we can actually 246 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: turn it into plasma. Then we have to use some 247 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: form of containment to push all of those nuclei together 248 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: big time. We have to really squish them in so 249 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: that they are within one time's tent to the negative 250 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: fifteen meters to fuse together. They had to be so 251 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: darn close to each other. And we don't have the 252 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: benefit of having an intense gravitational force like the Sun 253 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: has because of it's so massive. The gravity that the 254 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: Sun exerts is so strong that it that that condition 255 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 1: is natural in the core of the Sun. We can't 256 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: replicate that on Earth. We don't have the control of gravity, 257 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: so we have to use something else, and we typically 258 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: use stuff like magnetic fields or lasers or ion beams 259 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: in order to do that. I'll explain how in just 260 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: a moment, but first let's take another quick break to 261 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 1: thank our sponsor. All right, let's talk about magnetic confinement. 262 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: That means we're using magnetic and electric fields to manipulate 263 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,240 Speaker 1: the plasma to squish it into a tiny mass, and 264 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: it also heats it up in the process. The International 265 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or at least that's what was formerly 266 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: known as also called it and France relies on that approach. 267 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: Actually these days they say that i t e R 268 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: no longer stands International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. Instead they say 269 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,120 Speaker 1: it is a reference to the Latin phrase for the way, 270 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: probably because the word thermonuclear sounds super scary. But this reactor, 271 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: which is a research project meant to explore the possibilities 272 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: of using magnetic confinement to produce fusion reactions that will 273 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: release more energy than it requires to initiate, has was 274 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: called a tacomac. That's a specific kind of reactor has 275 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: an arrangement of magnets that are sort of in the 276 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: shape of a of a doughnut or or toroid. And 277 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:38,880 Speaker 1: this kind of reactor would first convert hydrogen gas into 278 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: plasma using microwaves, electricity, and neutral particle beams, and then 279 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: those superconducting magnets would create an extremely powerful magnetic field 280 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: compressing the plasma, and because plasma has an electric charge, 281 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: it's going to respond to these magnetic fields. The amount 282 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: of power needed to start the fusion process, according to it, 283 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,120 Speaker 1: will be about fifty megawatts, but the fusion process would 284 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 1: produce five hundred megawatts, meaning the thermal output power should 285 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: be ten times greater than the heating input power, so 286 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: you get a tenfold return on your power investment. That 287 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: sounds pretty sweet, but itder itself will not produce electricity, 288 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: at least not first anyway, it's meant to be a 289 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: research facility for the design and testing of fusion technologies. Now, 290 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 1: if it were a fusion power facility and it was 291 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:38,679 Speaker 1: beyond research and development, the thermal energy generated from the 292 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: fusion reaction would be used again to heat water into 293 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: steam and push steam turbines, just like a nuclear fission 294 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: reactor or even a cold power plant does. But would 295 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 1: be really really good at this because it would be 296 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,640 Speaker 1: producing so much energy you could heat up a lot 297 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,680 Speaker 1: more water. You could drive more steam turbines than other 298 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: forms of steam turbine generators, and so you can generate 299 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,080 Speaker 1: quite a bit of electricity from the amount of energy 300 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: you are producing through these reactions. In addition, because we're 301 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: pretty sure we're limited to do tterium tritium reactions, I 302 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: turn would also serve as a test facility to look 303 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: at the feasibility of creating tritium breeder reactors. So a 304 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:25,360 Speaker 1: breeder reactor creates the materials you need for a different 305 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: type of reaction. So the the reactor is in what 306 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,400 Speaker 1: is called a vacuum vessel, and that vacuum vessel will 307 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: have lithium blankets lining the inside of it, and those 308 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: blankets will actually absorb energy given off by this reactor 309 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:45,120 Speaker 1: during the fusion process, and as a result, when you 310 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: bombard lithium with radioactive energy, essentially it produces tritium. So 311 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: that way you can actually create part of the fuel 312 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: you need for future reactions as a byproduct of this process, 313 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:05,440 Speaker 1: and then you keep on going. But that's magnetic confinement. 314 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: There's actually another way we could use to keep plasma 315 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: confined so that fusion reactions can occur and that is 316 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: called inertial confinement. That one uses ion beams or laser 317 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,959 Speaker 1: beams to confine and squeeze the plasma. The National Ignition 318 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: Facility at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in the United States uses 319 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: that methodology, and the n i F reactor would use 320 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,960 Speaker 1: two different laser beams to focus on a single point. 321 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: And it's inside a chamber. You've got this big chamber 322 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,199 Speaker 1: called the whole rom h O H L R A 323 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,439 Speaker 1: U M is the spelling for that, and the chambers 324 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: specifically designed for radiant energy. That chambers ten ms in diameter. 325 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: It's pretty big. So what happens at the one focal 326 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: point where all those lasers are aimed at. Well. At 327 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,199 Speaker 1: that point will set a tiny pellet of duteri um 328 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 1: tritium and it's encased in a plastic cylinder. The one 329 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:08,919 Speaker 1: laser beams will pour one point eight million jewels of 330 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: power into this cylinder. This creates an enormous amount of heat. 331 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: It also emits X rays as a result, and this 332 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:21,120 Speaker 1: will help convert that pellet into a plasma. The lasers 333 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:25,840 Speaker 1: compress this plasma and fusion occurs. The fusion reaction will 334 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,640 Speaker 1: be over in less than in an instant like one 335 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,679 Speaker 1: millionth of a second, but that reaction should produce about 336 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: fifty to one hundred times more energy than what was 337 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: needed to initiate the reaction in the first place, so 338 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: the return on energy would be incredible, much more than 339 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: the magnetic confinement which was ten times right. So a 340 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: series of experiments eventually got the plasma to produce more 341 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: energy than it required to initiate, but the project never 342 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: reached full ignition. They never got to the point where 343 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: they fully ignited the fuel, where you had full fusion. 344 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: Are research is ongoing at the facility, but the early 345 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,640 Speaker 1: optimistic hopes that full ignition would be reached by late 346 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: obviously proved to be too ambitious. Now, one day it 347 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:20,360 Speaker 1: may prove to be an effective process to use as 348 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: a way to generate the energy necessary to drive electrical generators, 349 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:27,199 Speaker 1: but a lot more work has to be done to 350 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,919 Speaker 1: achieve goals and create a sustainable approach. A sustainable approach, 351 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: by the way, if you think about that setup where 352 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:35,919 Speaker 1: you have a hund lasers focused on one little point, 353 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: how do you make that something that you can continuously 354 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: do so that you can keep generating energy and create 355 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 1: electricity while you would have multiple pellets inside the chamber, 356 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 1: and the lasers would focus on one after another and 357 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 1: initiate fusion for each of those in order to generate 358 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:04,399 Speaker 1: the energy did to create electricity, So we got a 359 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 1: long way to go. And like Eider, the n i 360 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: F was not intended to be a power plant itself. 361 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: It was a research and testing ground still is a 362 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:16,919 Speaker 1: research and testing grounds for technology for various uh applications, 363 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: not just nuclear power but also nuclear weapons. Research goes 364 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,239 Speaker 1: on there. Uh Now it might that research might one 365 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: day make fusion reactors practical. A fusion reactor like the 366 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: one in i F research could lead to would generate 367 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,919 Speaker 1: electricity the same way the Eider based reactor would. In 368 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: other words, it would be used to generate energy that 369 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: would heat up water to turn into steam. So it 370 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: all comes back down to steam turbines. Seems like almost 371 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 1: all the major ways we generate electricity, with the exception 372 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: of something like direct solar power, has some variation of this. 373 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: While we haven't cracked the nut on fusion reactors, it 374 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: does remain a tantalizing goal. Deuterium is more plentiful than 375 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: stuff like your name two thirty five and it's not radioactive. 376 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 1: Tritium is radioactive, but we'd create that from energy given 377 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: off during fusion reactions, and so we could have breeder 378 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: reactors produced the fuel supply needed for various power plants, 379 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: and the stuff we'd used to generate the tritium is lithium, 380 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,719 Speaker 1: and we are lousy with lithium. Is that is not 381 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: hard to get hold of at all. The amount of 382 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,399 Speaker 1: fuel we would need for fusion reactions in general is 383 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 1: a fraction of what we would need for a fission 384 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,239 Speaker 1: based nuclear power plants. So that's the other nice thing 385 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: about is that you don't need as much stuff to 386 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: generate the energy you want to generate, right, You don't 387 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 1: have to go mining for uranium two thirty eight and 388 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: then enriching that so that you have enough uranium two 389 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: thirty five to have a sustainable nuclear reaction, and the 390 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,920 Speaker 1: amount of radiation produced by such reactors would be less 391 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,199 Speaker 1: than the natural background radiation we typically encounter in our 392 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,400 Speaker 1: day to day lives, and that's a nice change from 393 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: fission based nuclear reactors. There's also no combust bustion with 394 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: a nuclear fusion plant. There's also no combust in with 395 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,159 Speaker 1: a fission nuclear power plant, at least not if everything 396 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: is working properly, so you aren't burning stuff and you 397 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,920 Speaker 1: don't cause any pollution that way, And unlike fission reactors, 398 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: fusion reactors would not produce high level nuclear wastes. You 399 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,440 Speaker 1: would still have low level nuclear waste, and that's still 400 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 1: something you have to be concerned about, but that in 401 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: general is much easier to deal with than the high 402 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: level stuff. That's the again, one of the big reasons 403 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,120 Speaker 1: why fission reactors get so much pushback is this high 404 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,639 Speaker 1: level radioactive waste. But we'll have to wait a while 405 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: to see if this all pans out. Itter is scheduled 406 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,439 Speaker 1: to start doing plasma experiments in twenty five, so we're 407 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,360 Speaker 1: still a few years off before we see if that 408 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: experiment bears fruit. N i F has been on and 409 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: off again with their fusion projects, largely due to funding issues, 410 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: and it's hard to convince government agencies to fund exploratory 411 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: research when you cannot be absolutely certain that it's going 412 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:04,679 Speaker 1: to work. It's tough to say, yes, this investment is 413 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: a risk. It might pay off in ways we can't 414 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: even imagine, because we would be able to generate so 415 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: much energy that we would easily meet our energy needs 416 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: for the foreseeable future. But if it doesn't work, then 417 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,200 Speaker 1: we've spent all that money for you know, some lasers 418 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:26,439 Speaker 1: that that turn some deuterium tritium pellets into plasma, but 419 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: not enough of it to make it make a difference. 420 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 1: It's not a great way to try and get money, unfortunately, 421 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: because government agents tend to want results because eventually the 422 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 1: government agents have to report to the people who vote 423 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: for them. And if if you're a voter who's very 424 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,240 Speaker 1: concerned with where your money is going, you might not 425 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:50,320 Speaker 1: want to hear about a risky scientific proposition that may 426 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,520 Speaker 1: not pay off in the long run. I'm always for 427 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 1: exploratory science, but it's easy for me to say, right, 428 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 1: I get that I'm from a very privileged position when 429 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:03,440 Speaker 1: it comes to that. Now, in my next episode, I'm 430 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:06,639 Speaker 1: going to tackle a very controversial topic, and that would 431 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: be the concept of cold fusion. Cold fusion is a 432 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 1: process that, if it works, means that you would have 433 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: adams like deuterium fusing together at room temperature. You wouldn't 434 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:27,719 Speaker 1: need to have these elaborate setups to create such enormous 435 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,440 Speaker 1: amounts of pressure and heat in order for this to happen, 436 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 1: and if in fact it does work, it would dramatically 437 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: transform our world. We wouldn't need facilities like itter or 438 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: in i F because we would be able to do this, 439 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: you know, in a lab and a nice, nice lab 440 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,160 Speaker 1: with maybe some radioactive shielding because occasionally it would produce 441 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: gamma rays. But I'll talk about that more in the 442 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:56,679 Speaker 1: next episode. So continue down this nuclear pathway with me 443 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 1: as we talk about cold fusion. In the next episode 444 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: and then the episode after that, we'll take a closer 445 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,880 Speaker 1: look at what actually happened at sites like Three Mile Island, 446 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 1: Chernobyl and the Fukushima reactors. So join us for those. 447 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: And if you have suggestions for future episodes of tech Stuff, 448 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: maybe it's technology, maybe it's a person in tech, maybe 449 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 1: it's a company, send me a message let me know 450 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,800 Speaker 1: what you would like me to talk about. 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