Nevada Test Site Scientists Generates 4 times the power on Earth

Scientists at the Nevada Test Site said they generated a current Wednesday equal to roughly four times all the electrical power on Earth. Anyone have any idea of what they want to use all this power for, or is it just a dead-end project to spawn later projects?

www.theglobeandmail.com... 0050728.wpoer0728/BNStory/International/

And if they did why would they said it? wouldn't it be classified?

[edit on 31-7-2005 by ulshadow]

Maybe some project similair to the National Ignition Facility Programs

www.llnl.gov...

I know that NIF was killed but that's not to say that there isn't some similair black classified project.

The current, which created pressures in materials millions of times greater than normal, was part of an experiment to better understand nuclear weapons.

During the few millionths of a second that it operated, the 590-tonne Atlas pulsed-power generator discharged nearly 19 million amps of current through an aluminum cylindrical shell about the size of a tuna can, the National Nuclear Security Administration said.

Atlas, which works as a giant power multiplier, was designed as part of a U.S. Energy Department program to determine the readiness of the United States' nuclear stockpile without underground testing.

That's what it's for, which is also why it isn't classified. Maybe you should actually read the link.

I did, dosnt really explain why they need this much power, the information supplied is minimal. If someone wanted to explain a animal they saw in the wild to you, and they said "It had a head, and four legs", but nothing else, would you be satisfied?



ed. to remove quote of entire preceding post

[edit on 2-8-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

This explains it a bit more.

www.lanl.gov...

and a quote

The Atlas pulsed-power facility was designed as a tool to provide basic physics data suitable for validating the computer codes used for weapon certification and to help scientists improve the models in those codes.

I don't know for sure, but sounds like they are trying to refine the computer models of either the implosions that initiate the actual nuclear blast, or portions of the actual blast itself. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm sure you can search a bit more and find out for sure.

TheMesh

I have heard something of what they are doing. They are trying to harness the power of a nuclear blast to creat energy, if they could actually do it and get it to work, they would be able to power the entire world from one source in a central location, the best part is that Nuclear energy can self prepetuate itself (never needs refilling or a source other than itself) It would be a constant Nuclear reaction (constant nuclear explosion going off in a contained/controlled enviornment). Imagine the heat alone that it would generate! Imagine the governments pocket book if they got it to work, and how much money foriegn countries would have to pay for it.

Originally posted by Kamikazi
I have heard something of what they are doing. They are trying to harness the power of a nuclear blast to creat energy, if they could actually do it and get it to work, they would be able to power the entire world from one source in a central location, the best part is that Nuclear energy can self prepetuate itself (never needs refilling or a source other than itself) It would be a constant Nuclear reaction (constant nuclear explosion going off in a contained/controlled enviornment). Imagine the heat alone that it would generate! Imagine the governments pocket book if they got it to work, and how much money foriegn countries would have to pay for it.

That reminds me of the national ignition facility program or the way a star burns a little bit.

My question is if they start a reaction with electricity or lasers how would they stop or control it?

Its not like a reactor with fuel rods that can be lowered and raised.

What would they do if they started a reaction that they couldn't stop

I have this funny feeling that our planet will be destroyed by a nuclear force no matter what. Weither it's Nuclear war, or because they are trying to make energy 4 times greater than the power on the earth.