Nuclear Fusor: “Star in a Jar”

Energy & Sustainability Science
Nuclear Fusor: “Star in a Jar”
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MAKE fabricator Dan Spangler makes a lot of cool stuff, but his nuclear fusor project is at the top of list. It’s featured in the current issue of MAKE, Volume 36.

Nuclear fusion is the process of squeezing two atoms together so tightly that their nuclei fuse, creating a heavier atom and releasing a blast of energy.  Dan build a tame, demonstration version that generates insignificant quantities of fusion energy, but it does show how inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) reactors use kinetic energy to cause fusion.  This video shows the “star in a jar” in action.

4 thoughts on “Nuclear Fusor: “Star in a Jar”

  1. Lindsay Wilson says:

    “Star in a Jar”…….Dan Spangler……..Star……Spangler…….Star Spangled……

    Am I the only one to notice this?

    ;-)

  2. Stephan says:

  3. NASTY says:

    >Fuses atoms
    >Does not make light bright enough to cause camera glare
    >Sucks

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Stett Holbrook is editor of the Bohemian, an alternative weekly in Santa Rosa, California. He is a former senior editor at Maker Media.

He is also the co-creator of Food Forward, a documentary TV series for PBS about the innovators and pioneers changing our food system.

View more articles by Stett Holbrook

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