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19th Oct 2008
Fusion - The Power of the Sun
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We discover the source of solar energy this week - Nuclear fusion. But how can the process that keeps the Sun burning be harnessed here on Earth? We shed light on the physics of fusion, pay a visit to JET, the Joint European Torus, and greet ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the worlds best fusion bet yet. Also, we find out how reading brain activity might mean a new lease of life for paralysed people, why the colour of your childhood TV set may affect your dreams and how a 50 year old experiment has been brought up to date to tell us about the origins of life on Earth. Plus, in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave whip up a plasma storm with a bunch of grapes and a microwave!
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News
Scientists have developed a system that offers patients paralysed by spinal injuries the prospect of regaining the ability to move.
The breakthrough is the work of Chet Moritz and his colleagues at Washington University in Seattle. Writing in this week's Nature the team describe how they hav...
Do you dream in black and white or in full glorious technicolour? Your answer could well depend on what sort of TV you watched as a child, because a new study has provided more support for the theory that people who only watched black and white TV and movies as children also dream in black and white...
Scientists have brought a 1950s science experiment back to life, and with it discovered a lot more about how life on Earth got stated in the first place.
In the 1950s UCSD scientist Stanley Miller made history when he recreated the conditions of the early Earth by mixing some water, methane,...
Coral reef fishes that spend their lives picking clean other, bigger fish provide a more honest valet service when they work in pairs, showing that it pays off to be cooperate and behave.
That’s according to a study in the journal science this week from a team led by Redouan Bshary from the Univers...
Questions
How will ITER work?
The techniques you’re talking about in terms of using lasers to ignite and sustain fusion – is that what’s going to happen in ITER?
Kitchen Science
Create plasmas from a humble grape in your microwave.
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John Bailey joins us to explain the problem with Japanese knotweed, and how this alien species could be kept under control by another alien species...
Electricity from fusion could be a great alternative to traditional coal-fired power stations, supplying cheaper, cleaner power. But how does it work? Steve Cowley joins us to explain the physics of fusion...
The Joint European Torus, or JET, is the biggest fusion experiment in the world right now - but how does it keep fusion reactions going? Meera went along to explore the technological challenges...
So what's the next step towards making fusion power a reality? Steve Cowley explains the plans for the International Thermo-nuclear Experimental Reactor, better known as ITER...
How could lasers be used to achieve fusion? Kate Lancaster joins us to explain all...
Is it best to let batteries discharge, or keep them topped up? Which method gives the longest living battery, and does the type of battery matter?
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