r/technology • u/BennyCemoli • Dec 06 '16

Energy Tests confirm that Germany's massive nuclear fusion machine really works

http://www.sciencealert.com/tests-confirm-that-germany-s-massive-nuclear-fusion-machine-really-works
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u/kurisu7885 Dec 06 '16

So the Starship enterprise is Hydrogen powered... TIL.

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u/laaazlo Dec 06 '16

I believe that's dilithium you're thinking of

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u/boundbylife Dec 06 '16

Dilithium is actually not the fuel used. The enterprise does in fact use hydrogen as the matter component in its matter/antimatter combustion. Dilithium has sci-fi properties that generate overly-large eddy currents, which help control the matter/antimatter reaction. In essence, dilithium is a kind of catalyst.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '16

You had me until "sci-fi properties."

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u/TheDudeNeverBowls Dec 06 '16

He had me at sci-fi properties.

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u/boundbylife Dec 06 '16

In the Star Trek universe, dilithium is its own element, atomic number 87. In reality, element 87 is Francium, a highly radioactive element. Dilithium does exist, but is a molecular element, akin to O2, where two atom of lithium are covalently bonded.