He claims that there's some element found in large quantities on our moon that is scarce on earth and in poor quality. He said he seen it on the Discovery channel or some other science channel like that. I did a search and come up with nothing. From what he claims a chunk the size of a 1 liter soda bottle could power the average home for a year. I asked him if it was radioactive and he says no. I can think of no element that would provide power like he claims other than uranium, but that's radioactive. I know in school that we dropped the metal potassium into water in science class and it exploded. But I don't think potassium is rare on earth. Can someone help me find if this is true or if it is a myth?
2007-09-08 12:57:40 · 8 answers · asked by Andy 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
He's talking about strip mining the moon for Helium-3, which could be used in fusion reactors.
2007-09-08 13:11:43 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
He's probably thinking of helium-3. But he's still wrong for two reasons.
1) Helium-3 is not found in great abundance on the Moon. It is a very rare isotope of helium. Lunar surveys have found this isotopes is more common on the Moon than on Earth. But "more common" does mean common, although many newspaper and magazine articles seem to have made that mistake.
2) Helium-3, if it could be collected in sufficient quantities could be used to fuel fusion reactors, which would be many times more efficient that today's fission reactors. Keyword: could. The fact is, no one has succeeded in building a working fusion reactor. Many universities have built fusion reactors that managed to fuse deuterium and tritirium atoms (Hydrogen isotopes) for a few seconds at a time. None have succeeded in maintaining a stable chain reaction and in all cases, the reactor used more energy than it produced. Engineers have been at this for over 30 years. It is thought that maybe an isotope like Helium-3 might prove easier to fuse than Hydrogen, but since no one has been able to try, this is not certain.
So far, the only thing that does fusion reliably is the Sun.
2007-09-08 13:33:23 · answer #2 · answered by stork5100 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, it's a myth. There's no miracle material of any kind on the moon. I've watched every science program about the moon, I believe. It's comprised of the same elements as the earth at the time of formation. That eliminates gold, diamonds, coal, etcetera. All those things formed out of volcanic activity and/or intense pressures, and carbon, after the moon and earth were two separate bodies. If there were any original formation minerals in the moon, they'd be the same ones found on earth.
2007-09-08 13:10:32 · answer #3 · answered by Derail 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Helium 3 is abundant on the moon.
It can be the next "oil", and can be used to harness power both on the moon, for future colony or here on earth, if they can figure out how to transport it. Its the cleanest source of energy, but fusion is difficult to manipulate.
Its been known for a while, and Im sure people are researching applications now.
The worlds perception of nuclear power would need to change if its to be implemented.
2007-09-08 13:24:02 · answer #4 · answered by Margaret L 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
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2016-12-13 03:42:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
any element can provide power, as long as you have the means to convert it into energy (E=MC^2)
2007-09-08 13:36:44 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
well unless this element is Uranium which i hardly believe it is , then your boss is definitely making it up for conversation sack .. :-/
2007-09-08 13:06:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
your boss is mistaken.
2007-09-08 13:04:17 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋