22 Mar 10
Originally posted by sonhouseIf we with fusion mean nuclear fusion where two hydrogen nuclei fuse into a helium nucleus? No, I don't think so.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100321182909.htm
We'll have to wait and see on this one, if anything comes out of all this. Would be great if it did! There is a piece in this article saying some BACTERIA do a kind of cold fusion!
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26 Mar 10
Originally posted by sonhouseThat doesn't seem possible, especially since you can't fuse two hydrogen atoms together without a gravity well about the size of the Sun. It is done by achieving critical mass of radioactive isotopes. I don't understand how this would work at all.
It looks like they are saying they do.
26 Mar 10
Originally posted by UzumakiAiYes you can. All you need is for some force other than gravity to push them together, this includes electromagnetic forces, or plain old momentum. Slamming protons together is relatively easy, and even takes place in the atmosphere.
That doesn't seem possible, especially since you can't fuse two hydrogen atoms together without a gravity well about the size of the Sun.
27 Mar 10
Originally posted by twhiteheadThere may be something to the momentum idea, if cold fusion proves in the end to be valid: Quantum effects can make a small portion of a mixture accelerate to incredible velocities, much higher than classical physics would allow. That might be going on in cold fusion, if anything is in fact proven to have been going on!
Yes you can. All you need is for some force other than gravity to push them together, this includes electromagnetic forces, or plain old momentum. Slamming protons together is relatively easy, and even takes place in the atmosphere.
29 Mar 10
Originally posted by sonhouseCold fusion may indeed be possible. Perhaps with the aid of a catalyst of some kind. Future will tell.
There may be something to the momentum idea, if cold fusion proves in the end to be valid: Quantum effects can make a small portion of a mixture accelerate to incredible velocities, much higher than classical physics would allow. That might be going on in cold fusion, if anything is in fact proven to have been going on!
But I don't believe that any bacteria use cold fusion to create energy for their internal energy metabolism. I think the result would be destructive of its genetic material.
30 Mar 10
1 edit
Originally posted by FabianFnasBacteria have robust DNA repair mechanisms, they can take a lot of radiation. I think the radiation in this case would be neutrons.
Cold fusion may indeed be possible. Perhaps with the aid of a catalyst of some kind. Future will tell.
But I don't believe that any bacteria use cold fusion to create energy for their internal energy metabolism. I think the result would be destructive of its genetic material.
There was a 'mythbusters' show the other day that tested the radiation resistance of various bugs, the myth was that cockroaches are the kings of radiation resistance. They lived with 10,000 rad doses, ten times the lethal dose of humans. However there was one bug that took 10 times that dose to die, some kind of fly, forget which, but it was shown the cockroach myth to be wrong, ten times more likely to die than that fly species they showed.
The thing about the possibility of bacterial fusion is the reaction would be so powerful it would provide hundreds of times the energy of any chemical reaction so it would not take very much fusion to power such a life form.