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Comment: Not there yet! (Score 4, Informative) 118

by FoolishBluntman (#45097689) Attached to: Fusion "Breakthrough" At National Ignition Facility? Not So Fast
The headline states, "the amount of energy released through the fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel".

This is not enough, they must be able to capture that energy and use it to produce the next laser implosion of the fuel.
That will be a milestone.

Also, since this is using a Deuterium-Tritium Fuel it produces very high energy neutrons which will help destroy the reactor much faster than in conventional fission reactions.

+ - The Prisoners->

Submitted by stevegugun
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+ - Harrison Ford Discusses Involvment in Blade Runner Sequel-> 2

Submitted by DevotedDomains
DevotedDomains writes "In a recent interview, Harrison Ford discussed his possible involvement in the Ridley Scott directed sequel to Blade Runner. For the first time Ford actually confirmed that he had been in discussions about the Blade Runner sequel. Ford was asked if he would be interested in participating in the sequel if the script was right? To which he replied "Ummm yeah, we've been chatting about it yeah.""
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+ - TEPCO workers remove wrong pipe, splashed with highly radioactive water.->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "A day after TEPCO workers mistakenly turned off cooling pumps serving the spent pool at reactor #4 at the crippled nuclear plant comes a new accident — 6 workers apparently removed the wrong pipe *(Huffpo) from a primary filtration system and were doused with highly radioactive water.

They were wearing protection yet such continuing mishaps and "small mistakes" are becoming a pattern at the facility. Some suggest the mistakes are a result of low morale among workers and with potential consequences for such mistakes in the extreme, at what threshold must the Japanese government step in to ensure safe operations? Are larger disasters*(RT news) still quite possible at Fukushima?"

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+ - Two-laser boron fusion lights the way to radiation-free energy->

Submitted by ananyo
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Submitted by cartechboy
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+ - 5 ridiculous tech fees you're still paying

Submitted by Esther Schindler



+ - Valve announces their Steam Machine Prototype Specs->

Submitted by M0USER
M0USER writes "Here are the specifications for Valve's 300 prototypes.

The 300 prototype units will ship with the following components:
Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD
Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold
Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high"

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+ - SteamBox Prototypes Use Intel CPU, NVIDIA GPUs->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
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+ - Ask Slashdot: Time to Regulate Domestic Drones?->

Submitted by Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes "Earlier this week, a small helicopter drone tumbled out of the sky over midtown Manhattan, crashing to the sidewalk near Grand Central Station. On the way down it almost hit a businessman, who plucked out the video card from the wreckage and handed it over to a local television-news station. In the video, the drone (a Phantom Quadcopter) lifts off from what looks like an apartment terrace and buzzes its merry way toward some nearby skyscrapers, pausing for a few panoramic surveys of the Manhattan skyline. But the operator is clearly inexperienced, crashing the vehicle against the side of a building, and the flight lasts a mere three minutes before a final collision sends it to the street. Drone enthusiasts and engineers blamed the Quadcopter’s poor performance on the pilot’s possible reliance on GPS mode; when flying in an area crowded with tall buildings (and they don’t get much taller or more crowded than in Manhattan) that block GPS signals, a vehicle can quickly think it’s off-target and attempt to correct, leading to crashes. In theory, the FAA forbids the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles over crowded areas such as Manhattan, but that hasn’t stopped any number of hobbyists from launching drones. And hobbyists aside, the industry for commercial drones is picking up: over the summer, the FAA approved a pair of small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for flight, and Airware (which builds autopilot computers for drones) recently accepted funding from Google Ventures. That's led legislators to begin exploring ways to regulate domestic drone use (particularly with regard to use by law enforcement), and it begs the question: should drones be regulated? And if so, how?"
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+ - A Computer-based Smart Rifle with Incredible Accuracy, Now On Sale->

Submitted by WheezyJoe
WheezyJoe writes "A story on NPR reports that the TrackingPoint rifle went on sale today, and can enable a "novice" to hit a target 500 yards away on the first try. "The rifle's scope features a sophisticated color graphics display. The shooter locks a laser on the target by pushing a small button by the trigger... But here's where it's different: You pull the trigger but the gun decides when to shoot. It fires only when the weapon has been pointed in exactly the right place, taking into account dozens of variables, including wind, shake and distance to the target. The rifle has a built-in laser range finder, a ballistics computer and a Wi-Fi transmitter to stream live video and audio to a nearby iPad. Every shot is recorded so it can be replayed, or posted to YouTube or Facebook."
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+ - Your audio amplifier as a stable, efficient, bi-directional power supply

Submitted by plawson
plawson writes "From an article in EDN (http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4410454/CogniPower-among-the-giants-at-APEC-2013): CogniPower's Predictive Energy Balancing audio amplifier operates on a completely different principle from other switched-mode amplifiers. This new topology offers the efficiency of the most efficient switched-mode amplifiers with the fidelity of a linear amplifier. They enable better sound for cell phones, tablets and portable media players while extending battery life. These amplifiers can be significantly smaller and less expensive than the amplifiers used now. In addition, the technology is scalable from piezo speakers for cell phones to theater speakers. The PEB amplifier is essentially a bidirectional power converter. Once its capabilities as an audio amp are appreciated, it can be operated as a DC/AC or DC/DC converter. Its bidirectionality even allows it to operate as an energy harvesting device. There are many applications for this architecture such as MRI machines, switched-mode power supplies, Point of Load Converters, LED Lighting, Electric Vehicles, Smart Grid, Computers and File Servers, Solar Inverters, AC-AC Converters, etc. How would you apply this technology?"
