Welcome to the episode number 10 of the Authors of Mass Destruction podcast. My name is Natasha Bajema, aka WMDgirl on Twitter. I’m a fiction author, national security expert and your host for this podcast.
If you’re interested in sciencetechnology, in reading good fiction, or want to write fiction based on technology, you’re in the right place.
Each week, I kick the episode off with a technology news headline that has caught my attention that week and answer listener questions. If you’re interested in submitting a question to the show, become a patron for only a few dollars a month at Patreon at www.patreon.com– p a t r e o n / natashabajema
I want to thank my six amazing patrons:Renee
Dan
Tim
Darren
Lee
Nancy
Your support means so much and makes this podcast possible. In addition to my time, there are hosting and marketing costs associated with the show. Every little bit helps me continue doing the show.
As part of the bonus items for my supporters, I released my first tip sheet, a handy two-pager that covers the key lessons from my lecture on the “Basics of the Atom”. If you sign up on patreon for only $5 per month, you’ll support my podcast and get access to these additional materials.
Before we get started, a few notes:The views expressed on this podcast are my own and do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.
The AOMD podcast is proud to be part of the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. Check us out at www.authorsontheair.com
My headline for this week is “This 12-year-old built a nuclear reactor at home using equipment he found on eBay,” published on businessinsider.com on April 13, 2019.“Jackson Oswalt, now 14 years old, managed to build a nuclear fusion reactor in his parents’ garage around two years ago.”
Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy.It’s easiest to do by combining two isotopes of hydrogen: deuterium and tritium.
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, but it’s a beta emitter (radiation hazard when inhaled or ingested); it is also extremely rare.
He used online videos and pieces of equipment bought on eBay.
His parents agreed to support him and spent between $8,000 and $10,000 collecting the parts he needed to build his nuclear reactor and paying for the electricity bill.
Using Open Source Fusor Research Consortium— an online forum for amateur physicists — Oswalt used on trial and error to build a reactor and successfully carry out fusion reactions.
I chose this headline for this week because it demonstrates how barriers to developing advanced technology are dropping. There are do-it-yourself (DIY) communities who are focused on editing genomes of living organism, designing and manufacturing things using 3D printers and developing drone racing skills.
This brings me to today’s interview is with three freshman college students at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI who decided to participate in the University Rover Challenge this past year and took on the challenge of designing, building and fielding a robotic vehicle capable of roving on the planet Mars. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Tom Van Keulen.
Premium
Plus
Comentarios