North Korea perfects Nuclear Fusion!

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**Gwar!**

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8676678.stm

All hail Glorious Leader!

**The Dreadnote**

Pyongyang says its latest scientific breakthrough coincides with the birthday of the country's founder, and eternal president Kim Il-sung - not the first time it seems that the laws of nature have been bent in his honour.

According to official biographies, when his son, the current leader Kim Jong-il was born, a new star appeared in the sky.

**J.Black**

But the North Koreans appear to be claiming to have gone much further, by building what they describe as a "unique thermo-nuclear reaction device".

And this morning i breakfasted on Koala bear and rode a winged dolphin to the land of chocolate and stardust.

**Kilkrazy**

Once again proof if it were needed that North Korea is Best Korea.

**Disposable Hero**

To the North Koreans, in whatever fantasy world they live in, I say great job

.
In the real world, there is only one reaction:

.

**Cheesecat**

Have any other countries perfected nuclear fusion?

**sebster**

Cheesecat wrote:Have any other countries perfected nuclear fusion?

It was first done in the 50s, one reaction that that lasted a really short period of time. The trick is to make it on-going, and from there to make it commercially viable.

Congratulations to North Korea for this breakthrough in technological progress. I believe one day this great scientific discovery will one day take its place in history alongside the Piltdown Man and the Newark Holy Stones. All you doubters will be proved wrong.

**Kid_Kyoto**

Great.

Instead of buying Saudi and Iranian oil we'll be buying Mr Fusions from North Korea.

Just can't win.

**malfred**

KK: Doesn't Glorious Leader worship count as a world religion?

**ShumaGorath**

The bigger concern is the possibility that north korea could be a step closer to a hydrogen bomb. Thermonuclear bombs are fusion bombs and are orders of magnitude more powerful than conventional fission based weapons.

**Gwar!**

ShumaGorath wrote:The bigger concern is the possibility that north korea could be a step closer to a hydrogen bomb. Thermonuclear bombs are fusion bombs and are orders of magnitude more powerful than conventional fission based weapons.

Not to mention a "pure" Hydrogen Bomb (one that doesn't use Fission at all to kick start the reaction) would leave no fallout and thus be drawback free.

**ShumaGorath**

Gwar! wrote:
ShumaGorath wrote:The bigger concern is the possibility that north korea could be a step closer to a hydrogen bomb. Thermonuclear bombs are fusion bombs and are orders of magnitude more powerful than conventional fission based weapons.
Not to mention a "pure" Hydrogen Bomb (one that doesn't use Fission at all to kick start the reaction) would leave no fallout and thus be drawback free.

That depends entirely on the material used for the reaction. Fusion gives off radiation too.

**Gwar!**

ShumaGorath wrote:
Gwar! wrote:
ShumaGorath wrote:The bigger concern is the possibility that north korea could be a step closer to a hydrogen bomb. Thermonuclear bombs are fusion bombs and are orders of magnitude more powerful than conventional fission based weapons.
Not to mention a "pure" Hydrogen Bomb (one that doesn't use Fission at all to kick start the reaction) would leave no fallout and thus be drawback free.
That depends entirely on the material used for the reaction. Fusion gives off radiation too.

Yes, but the main issue with Fission weapons isn't the Radiation itself, but the fallout contaminated with fissile material.

**BaronIveagh**

Comparatively though, it'd be fairly light.

Me: I like the Anti-matter bomb. Smaller then a baseball continent crackers, anyone?

**Orlanth**

My voted definition of the Glorious Leaders new breakthough is:

Black boxes with jump leads emiting from them. Containing a hamster wheel, a dynamo, and hamsters on PCP.

**agnosto**

Quick, somebody photshop Nork soldiers with Stormboyz jump packs.

**rowan341**

Nuclear fusion being the process I learnt at age 12 somehow

anyway yeah to my knowledge nobody (unless they are telling the truth) has managed to get nuclear fusion to release more energy than is required to keep is contained as containing it is like putting an object hotter than the sun in a box and so it can't touch the sides. Just out of interest what radiation does it release as from what I've heard it doesn't cause radiation as it is just converting hydrogen to helium.

**dogma**

Fusion weapons are nothing like fusion power.

**BaronIveagh**

But antimatter is like no other.

E=mc^2 means that Albert Einstein is the deadliest sonovabitch in the universe!

**rowan341**

Ah ok. But surely it will still need to use low atomic mass elements otherwise it would need huge energy to start it unless it doesn't actualy do fusion.

**dogma**

BaronIveagh wrote:But antimatter is like no other.

E=mc^2 means that Albert Einstein is the deadliest sonovabitch in the universe!

Antimatter would be prohibitively difficult to contain in a weaponized form. You certainly couldn't simply make a warhead, and then leave it in storage, not with the necessity of active containment. Nor would you be able to maintain a reservoir of antimatter, for the same reasons.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

rowan341 wrote:Ah ok. But surely it will still need to use low atomic mass elements otherwise it would need huge energy to start it unless it doesn't actualy do fusion.

In general its an H to He reaction.

**ComputerGeek01**

THANK YOU dogma! I was begining to think that I was too late and that the popculture had rooted itself too deep in this thread.

@Antimatter: I like the line but E = mc^2 has nothing to do with changing the charge on the components of an atom. This formula only states that the amount of energy for a given mass is equal to the product of the mass and the speed of light squared. Einstein turned down a spot on the Manhatten Project. As far as weaponizing it, you would set up an ideal situation in the warhead and upon "detonation" generate the antimatter right then and there. You wouldn't 'store' it as such.

@Fusion: For a communist country Fusion is an awsome idea, for us 1st world countries though, we need power generation that is scalable. This is Nuclear Fusion not Cold Fusion, there is no giant leap in the world of science. Containment is a matter of scale, you don't set off ALL of the gasoline in your tank at once just to get to the corner. The Russians made what is considered the best fusion reactor in the 60's. The biggest threat is that North Korea isn't a friendly nation and nobody really knows what they're about to do with this, if they really have it.

**BaronIveagh**

ComputerGeek01 wrote:THANK YOU dogma! I was begining to think that I was too late and that the popculture had rooted itself too deep in this thread.

@Antimatter: I like the line but E = mc^2 has nothing to do with changing the charge on the components of an atom. This formula only states that the amount of energy for a given mass is equal to the product of the mass and the speed of light squared. Einstein turned down a spot on the Manhatten Project. As far as weaponizing it, you would set up an ideal situation in the warhead and upon "detonation" generate the antimatter right then and there. You wouldn't 'store' it as such.

Maaaaybe I missed something but last I heard the energy released by matter/antimatter annihilation was still computed using E=mc^2. and, last I heard, protons and anti-protons coming together in an uncontrolled manner still released whopping amounts of energy...

**dogma**

BaronIveagh wrote:and, last I heard, protons and anti-protons coming together in an uncontrolled manner still released whopping amounts of energy...

Not always. As usual, science fiction has massively amplified the power of anitmatter.

**Stormrider**

Oh Lord, science and totaltarian regimes shouldn't mix, I feel so bad for the average people of North Korea. Starving with no power and clean water.

**dietrich**

It's good to see he has time to work on science in between winning North Korean Idol.

**Nightwatch**

Stormrider wrote:Oh Lord, science and totaltarian regimes shouldn't mix, I feel so bad for the average people of North Korea. Starving with no power and clean water.

I think they have power now, if the Glorious Leader wants to share.

**BaronIveagh**

dogma wrote:
BaronIveagh wrote:and, last I heard, protons and anti-protons coming together in an uncontrolled manner still released whopping amounts of energy...

Not always. As usual, science fiction has massively amplified the power of anitmatter.

Yeah, it's hard to get Uranium to critical mass too, but it an be done.

Why not store the anti-matter in a vacuum, held in place by magnetic fields?

**dogma**

BaronIveagh wrote:
Why not store the anti-matter in a vacuum, held in place by magnetic fields?

Requires power and, more importantly, active force. The chances of an active system failing are far higher than a passive system.

**Stormrider**

Nightwatch wrote:
Stormrider wrote:Oh Lord, science and totaltarian regimes shouldn't mix, I feel so bad for the average people of North Korea. Starving with no power and clean water.

I think they have power now, if the Glorious Leader wants to share.

I doubt he will. He is the Glorious Leader, sharing isn't something he comprehends, even though his political ideology is based on forced sharing.