Nuclear Fusor: “Star in a Jar”

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.