Metallic Hydrogen - Research Discovers Metallic Hydrogen. .

prometheusunbound · 2003-07-04 15:22:18

"Scientific American, May 2000"

Researchers at the Lawerence Livermore National Labatory have syntheised Metallic hydrogen (abeit for very short time spans, due to compession)

Metallic hydrogen is created by compressing liquid hydrogen so much it turns into a metal. The researchers used a very, very big gun to shoot a projectile into a small sample of liquid hydrogen.

A possible way to stabilize metallic hydrogen is to create some metallic hydrogen with a extremly heavy duty compressor, then expose it to a extremly large current of electricy and then just expose more electricy and hydrogen to the mix. (metallic hydrogen is a superconductor)

Possible uses could include being used as a fuel for a NTR (no metallic oxygen exsits for a chemical rocket) or to be used as a shield for a space ship crew (magnetic field would be produced by superconducor) and for power storage (no wasted power!)

ideas?

prometheusunbound · 2003-07-18 16:46:49

If metallic hydrogen is stablisized, then we could go to the moon in a chemical rocket the size of a pickup truck. Imagine that!

Free Spirit · 2003-07-18 17:57:19

A possible way to stabilize metallic hydrogen is to create some metallic hydrogen with a extremly heavy duty compressor, then expose it to a extremly large current of electricy and then just expose more electricy and hydrogen to the mix. (metallic hydrogen is a superconductor)

Peter Hoffman says in his book "Tomorrow's Energy" that it might be possible to keep metallic hydrogen stable by adding small amounts of other materials to it so it becomes an alloy. According to that same book it takes over a million atmospheres of pressure to create metallic hydrogen. Apparently metallic hydrogen is also good for nukes since you can pack a lot of hydrogen into a very small space. That's probably the real reason Lawrence Livermore lab is interested in it.

prometheusunbound · 2003-07-18 20:07:07

why the ? is it a bad thing or a good thing?

Free Spirit · 2003-07-18 20:53:25

Considering that the Livermore lab is interested in using metallic hydrogen in technology meant to deliberately kill us, I'd say it's a bad thing, but that the spinoffs could be good. Problem is though, if they did find a way to create metallic hydrogen and it did improve bomb designs would they allow others to use that technology for civilian purposes? Something tells me they wouldn't.

prometheusunbound · 2003-07-19 06:08:32

Problem is though, if they did find a way to create metallic hydrogen and it did improve bomb designs would they allow others to use that technology for civilian purposes? Something tells me they wouldn't.

that would suck in all manner of suckitude. There is actually so much civillain potentail that it would be quite a waste to hide it. Anyways some interesting info, styrofoam was orig on nuke rockets for stablizing the warhead during liftoff.

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#1 2003-07-04 15:22:18

Re: Metallic Hydrogen - Research Discovers Metallic Hydrogen. .

#2 2003-07-18 16:46:49

Re: Metallic Hydrogen - Research Discovers Metallic Hydrogen. .

#3 2003-07-18 17:57:19

Re: Metallic Hydrogen - Research Discovers Metallic Hydrogen. .

#4 2003-07-18 20:07:07

Re: Metallic Hydrogen - Research Discovers Metallic Hydrogen. .

#5 2003-07-18 20:53:25

Re: Metallic Hydrogen - Research Discovers Metallic Hydrogen. .

#6 2003-07-19 06:08:32

Re: Metallic Hydrogen - Research Discovers Metallic Hydrogen. .

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