HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for but these two videos discuss the results of a Fermilab experiment that hints at a crack in the standard model.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBzn4o4z5Bk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ko7NW2yQo

There's a ton of articles about this on every science news site and youtube channel.

Here's an old one for example that explains what they are doing at Fermi wit the G-2 machine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ko7NW2yQo

And just check the science sites.

⬐ wrycoder

Your link is unrelated to the topic. Do you have something pertinent to gravity "double cover" work?

Muon-Catalyzed Fusion [1].

Briefly it's a genuine, and scientifically uncontroversial, form of 'cold' fusion enabled by muons — a more massive relative of the electron that was in the news recently thanks to the potentially interesting results coming out of the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab [2].

Like conventional 'hot' plasma fusion, in all experiments to date the energy input needed to sustain the process has exceeded the output, but it may be possible to use it to generate power. Unlike conventional fusion though, it receives relatively little attention, and there is no well-funded international effort to tackle the associated technical challenges. As with conventional fusion the technical challenges seem formidable, but it could be an interesting technology if a way could be found to make it work.

Listeners of Lex Fridman's podcast may recall that it was briefly mentioned in the episode he made last year with his father, Alexander Fridman, who is a plasma physicist [3]. As someone who has been interested in the idea for years and barely hears any mention of it, I was pleasantly surprised it came up.

It was also covered on the MinutePhysics YouTube channel in 2018 [4].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon_catalyzed_fusion

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ko7NW2yQo

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNCz-8QIWuI

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDfB3gnxRhc

Bonus fact: Muon-Catalyzed fusion was first demonstrated by the Nobel laureate Luis Alvarez, who, with his geologist son Walter Alvarez, later proposed the 'Alvarez hypothesis' for the extinction of the dinosaurs by asteroid impact.

⬐ RBerenguel

I thought research on it had stalled (I looked it up for a high-school project… 20-odd years ago). I'm glad to see otherwise (or that at least more people see it as interesting), I always thought it looked promising.

⬐ lambdatronics

There's an on-going project right now with ARPA-E's "BETHE" program to experimentally study the potential for MCF in higher-density plasmas. IMO, this is one of the better choices that ARPA-E's fusion program has made -- it's low-cost, high-risk, high-reward.

https://www.arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/projects/conditio...

⬐ NortySpock

The MinutePhysics video you linked seemed pretty firm in saying we had no clear path to reducing the energy input required to create muons or increasing the energy output of the fusion, thus never generating net energy.

Are there recent developments in this field that change that?

⬐ sroussey

Could muons generated from this work?

https://techtransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/NCD/24852.ht...

⬐ lambdatronics

It's not clear if increased energy efficiency is one of the benefits of this technology. My guess is no.

⬐ nynx

It's disappointing that MCF doesn't get more attention.

⬐ NaturalPhallacy

Yay, something that wasn't software related!

-A Software Engineer

PBS Spacetime just released a video on this experiment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ko7NW2yQo

⬐ MichaelApproved

So did Fermilab ;) https://youtu.be/ZjnK5exNhZ0

Definitely worth checking out the rest of the videos on both those channels.

While we’re at it, check out 60 Symbols’ channel for great physics discussions that hardly ever (thanks Brady!) include equations https://youtube.com/user/sixtysymbols

⬐ elorant

Warning. Sixty symbols is a black hole. It will devour all your free time.

There is a nice video explanation from PBS at https://youtu.be/O4Ko7NW2yQo

⬐ seventytwo

PBS, man. Just steadily and reliably educating everyone for years now. Good shit.

⬐ dimator

SpaceTime (that channel) in general is of impeccable quality and production value. Definitely worth subscribing.

⬐ Crash0v3rid3

Worth the patreon contribution also.

From another comment, there's this PBS Space Time video on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ko7NW2yQo

They already did, 15 minutes ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ko7NW2yQo

For those who do not know - PBS Spacetime is YouTube channel hosted by astrophysics Ph.D Matt O'Dowd, aimed at casual physics enthusiasts without oversimplifying underlying physics too much.