Extreme DIY: Building a homemade nuclear reactor in NYC

BBC News - Extreme DIY: Building a homemade nuclear reactor in NYC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/1038585323 June 2010 Last updated at 08:01 GMTExtreme DIY: Building a homemade nuclearreactor in NYCBy Matthew DanzicoBBC News, Brooklyn, New YorkMany might be alarmed to learn of a homemade nuclear reactor being built nextdoor. But what if this form of extreme DIY could help solve the world's energycrisis?By day, Mark Suppes is a web developer for fashion giant Gucci. By night, he cycles to aNew York warehouse and tinkers with his own nuclear fusion reactor.The warehouse is a non-descript building on a tree-lined Brooklyn street, across the roadfrom blocks of apartments, with a grocery store on one corner. But in reality, it is a lab.In a hired workshop on the third floor, a high-pitched buzz emanates from a corner dottedwith metal scraps and ominous-looking machinery, as Mr Suppes fires up his device andsearches for the answer to a question that has eluded some of the finest scientific minds onthe planet.In nuclear fusion, atoms are forcibly joined, releasing energy. It is, say scientists, the "holygrail" of energy production - completely clean and cheap.The problem is, no-one has found a way of making fusion reactors produce more energythan they consume to run.'I was inspired'1 sur 4 12/03/2011 23:46BBC News - Extreme DIY: Building a homemade nuclear reactor in NYC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10385853Mr Suppes, 32, is part of a growing community of ...