Nuclear Fusion Power Could Be Here by 2030, One Company Says

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A private nuclear-fusion company has heated a plasma of hydrogen to 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius) in a new reactor for the first time — hotter than the core of the sun.

UK-based Tokamak Energy says the plasma test is a milestone on its quest to be the first in the world to produce commercial electricity from fusion power, possibly by 2030.

The company, which is named after the vacuum chamber that contains the fusion reaction inside powerful magnetic fields, announced the creation of the superhot plasma inside its experimental ST40 fusion reactor in early June.

The successful test – the highest plasma temperature achieved so far by Tokamak Energy – means the reactor will now be prepared next year for a test of an even hotter plasma, of more than 180 million degrees F (100 million degrees C).

That will put the ST40 reactor within the operating temperatures needed for controlled nuclear fusion; the company plans to build a further reactor by 2025 that will produce several megawatts of fusion power.

"It's been really exciting," Tokamak Energy co-founder David Kingham told Live Science. "It was very good to see the data coming through and being able to get the high-temperature plasmas — probably beyond what we were hoping for." [Science Fact or Fiction? The Plausibility of 10 Sci-Fi Concepts]

Tokamak Energy is one of several privately funded companies racing to create a working fusion reactor that can supply electricity to the grid, perhaps years before the mid-2040s, when the ITER fusion reactor project in France is expected to even achieve its "first plasma."

It could be another decade after that before the experimental ITER reactor is ready to create sustained nuclear fusion — and even then, the reaction will not be used to generate any electricity.

The Best Microscopes for Kids

Group shot!Credit: Live Science

We stuck live tardigrades (also called water bears) under six inexpensive microscopes: three digital microscopes and three traditional optical scopes. We wanted to see what the teensy beasties — they grow no larger than 1 millimeter, or about the thickness of a credit card — would look like through the lenses of these off-the-shelf microscopes. Along the way, we learned quite a bit about the microscopes themselves. And while this wasn't the most rigorous test to find the best scope for kids — our tester spent about 6 hours with the microscopes as a group — we wanted to share some of our insights because we think they'll be worthwhile for any parent looking to buy their child one of these products.

[Check out our pics showing what the tardigrades looked like through the lenses of these microscopes.]

Traditional microscopes

Omano Monocular Compound Microscope

The Omano was our favorite microscope thanks to its ease of use, solid construction and ability to reveal an amazing shot of a tiny tardigrade at the scope's max magnification. The Omano is the biggest, heaviest and sturdiest of the microscopes we tested.

Pros:

The Omano includes three lenses (4x, 10x and 40x magnification).

The dials were easy to operate, with an accessible but out-of-the-way control for adjusting the brightness.

The slide clips were tight and easy to use.

The lenses have a built-in arrow that lets you "point" at things you're viewing, and the scope includes a helpfulinstruction manual.

Cons:

The only complaint we have is that the power cord extends out toward the person viewing through the scope, which was annoying.

My First Lab Duo Scope

This reasonably priced microscope looks and feels like it was designed for kids; it has just the basic features one would need for a microscope experience. It's a small microscope, but it's still sturdy and doesn't move around while you're using it. Kids will be able to look at a range of things, including the itsy-bitsy tardigrade; the scope includes three lenses (4x, 10x and 40x magnification).

Pros:

The Lab Duo has a handy, easy-to-turn aperture-adjustment dial, which controls the diameter of the light beam illuminating the object being viewed.

Plus, you can light the slide from the top or bottom.

The microscope comes with thorough instructions, which budding scientists will appreciate. They include a guide to experiments using the microscope, as well as steps and tips for preparing slides.

Cons:

The clips holding the slide in place are a little on the loose side.

AmScope Kids

This beginners' microscope gets the job done, and it would be great for a young kid who is just getting interested in biology. It includes three lenses for multiple levels of magnification: 15x, 30x and 60x. But it looks and feels cheaply constructed, and there are some clunky drawbacks.

Pros:

The AmScope Kids comes with a bevy of accessories, such as prepared slides, brine shrimp eggs and hatchery for them, and a carrying case for the lot.

The instruction manual is thorough and easy to use.

You can rotate the base of the microscope to turn the bottom light on and off, which is convenient.

A built-in color filter saves you from having to stain slides.

Cons:

The construction is cheap, with a lot of plastic that looks like metal; the plastic clips work, but they seem like they'd break easily.

Even though the light is convenient to turn on and off, it's tricky to do so without touching the mirror on the other side.

The adjustment controls are finicky, and their location on the scope isn't as intuitive as the others we tested.

The eyepiece is vertical (rather than slightly slanted), which makes it uncomfortable to look through. The eyepiece opening is small, which will make it hard for parents to use but OK for kids.

The base where you place the slide is small, making it difficult to move it around without messing up the slide.

Digital Microscopes 

A note on magnification numbers: Traditional and digital microscopes define magnification differently. Whereas magnification numbers for traditional microscopes is the ratio of the actual size of the object being viewed to the size the specimen appears under the microscope. The magnification numbers for digital microscopes also account for various other factors, including the computer screen (physical size of the monitor and pixel resolution) and features of the related software.

Boeing's Hypersonic Vision: A Sleek Passenger Plane That Can Hit Mach 5

China's New Laser Gun Can Zap You with a Silent, Carbonizing Beam

Members of the People's Liberation Army perform drills during a demonstration on June 30, 2018, in Hong Kong. China's military may soon have laser guns in its arsenal.Credit: Anthony Kwan/Getty, file

The laser blasters in "Star Wars" are no longer a thing of science fiction. Chinese researchers have developed an actual laser gun that can ignite a target on fire from a half mile (800 meters) away, the South China Morning Post reported.

But this new weapon, called a ZKZM-500, has a few differences from the "Star Wars" version. Based on an artist's depiction of the gun published in the South China Morning Post, this real-life version is a boxy-shaped assault rifle that resembles a large toy gun more than a sleek "Star Wars" blaster. The 15 mm caliber weapon weighs about the same as an AK-47, 6.6 lbs. (3 kilograms), and can fire more than 1,000 laser shots, each one lasting up to 2 seconds.

The South China Morning Post reported that the weapon produces a silent, invisible energy beam — a characteristic that makes it stealthy, but likely not as satisfying to shoot as a "Star Wars" blaster would be. It'll be powered by a rechargeable lithium battery similar to what's found in smartphones. [The 22 Weirdest Military Weapons]

Although the gun is classified as a nonlethal weapon, its laser shots can cause "'instant carbonization' of human skin and tissues," according to the South China Morning Post, which means skin would burn and be reduced to carbon like the outside of a charred marshmallow. It can also fire through windows, burn through gas tanks and ignite anything that's flammable. And, because the shots are silent and invisible, "nobody will know where the attack came from. It will look like an accident," one of the gun's creators told the South China Morning Post.

But it'll take several zaps to burn a hole through a body and kill someone with this gun. The South China Morning Post reported that it's not designed explicitly for killing like a gun that uses bullets, which is why the Chinese government classified the laser weapon as nonlethal. A government document suggests the laser gun could be used to do things such as setting fire to illegal banners at a protest or setting fire to the hair or clothing of a protester.

The weapon is ready for mass production, but its creator, ZKZM Laser, hasn't found a licensed weapons-production company ready to take the guns on at $15,000 a unit, yet.

Sorry, "Star Wars" fans — once they're made, these futuristic weapons will be distributed only to Chinese military and police.

Why a Fighter Jet Is Testing 'Quiet' Supersonic Booms Over Texas

This November, onlookers will get to hear a so-called "quiet" sonic boom as a supersonic military jet zips through the skies of Galveston, Texas, according to NASA.

NASA is trying to build a supersonic jet that can break the sound barrier while avoiding earsplitting sonic booms altogether, Live Science previously reported — but the agency is not there yet.

So instead, they're testing another supersonic plane, an F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, to investigate the impact of ordinary and quieter sonic booms so that NASA can determine how much sonic noise people on the ground deem acceptable in their everyday lives. [Supersonic! The 10 Fastest Military Airplanes]

During the tests, the F/A-18 Hornet will dive through the air, making loud sonic booms over the Gulf of Mexico and quieter booms over the coastal city of Galveston. By rating the feedback from the audio sensors and about 500 local volunteers on the ground, NASA scientists will get a better idea of what people think of the plane's volume.

"We'll never know exactly what everyone heard. We won’t have a noise monitor on their shoulder inside their home," Alexandra Loubeau, NASA’s team lead for sonic boom community response research at Langley, Virginia, said in a statement. "But we’d like to at least have an estimate of the range of noise levels that they actually heard."

Virtual Reality May Help Save Ancient Egypt's 'Sistine Chapel'

Some of the VR tour of Nefertari's tomb is shown here.Credit: Curiosity Stream

A new virtual reality experience may help save an ancient Egyptian tomb built for Queen Nefertari whose paintings are so beautiful that it has been compared to Italy's Sistine Chapel.

Built around 3,250 years ago for the favorite wife of pharaoh Ramesses II (who reigned from 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C.), the Tomb of Nefertari is located in the Valley of the Queens, near Luxor. The tomb is open to just small groups of visitors, because the increase in humidity that comes when people enter can damage its paintings.

At present small groups of tourists are allowed into the tomb, each tourist paying an entrance fee of 1000 Egyptian pounds (about $56) said Zahi Hawass, an archaeologist and former Minister of State for Antiquities. [In Photos: The Mummy of Queen Nefertari of Egypt]

Between 1986 and 1992 the Getty Institute, working with Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities, restored the tomb, which has suffered damage from salt incrustations, bacteria and fungi. Rising humidity can lead to increases in bacteria and fungi, researchers have found. "When I started the project with the Getty, we all agreed that we cannot open the tomb to the public. But we can open it to groups who would pay a high fee," Hawass told Live Science, adding that each person pays 1,000 Egyptian pounds (about $56) to enter.

"A virtual tour will save the tomb," Hawass said.

Capturing the tomb

To create the virtual reality experience, Experius VR teamed up with Curiosity Stream, a streaming service for documentaries. 

Viewers will be able to virtually walk through Nefertari's tomb in ancient Egypt.Credit: Curiosity Stream

Three people from Experius VR spent two days in the Nefertari tomb, 3D-scanning it and taking thousands of overlapping high-resolution images, said Elliott Mizroch, the CEO and co-founder of ExperiusVR. The team then spent two months in post-production, turning the 3D scan and photographs into a virtual reality experience.

The finished tour can now be downloaded for free on Steam and on Viveport and Curiosity Stream VR although currently you need the Vive headset to view it, said Emma Tiernon, a spokesperson for Curiosity Stream. The team then spent two months in post-production, turning the 3D scan and photographs into a virtual reality experience. said, adding that the team hopes to configure the tour so that it can be viewed on other headsets.

In this VR tour, the viewer moves around the tomb by wearing the 3D headset and using controls. If the viewer wants more information on a work of art, for instance, they can virtually touch the painting and a narrator will provide information. 

Growing trend

Nefertari's tomb is one of a growing number of historical sites that are being saved in the virtual world. In April, Google announced it was partnering with a company called Cyark to scan historical monuments.

While the virtual reality tour of Nefertari's tomb shows the tomb as it appears today, some try to recreate a site as it looked thousands of years ago, such as a virtual tour of ancient Jerusalem released in 2017 by a company called Lithodomos VR.

While it still takes a lot of time to create a vivid virtual reality tour of an historical site — the tour of Nefertari's tomb took two months — the process is expected to become faster as virtual reality and holography technologies improve, Tiernon said, adding that Curiosity Stream plans to help create more virtual tours of historical sites. 

"As virtual reality continues to improve and become more readily available, these tools will have the power to transcend today's production capabilities and transport audiences to places that we once thought unimaginable," said Jorge Franzini, executive producer of Curiosity Stream.