Ambient office = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 88 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

White onion from Central Market = 110 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 96 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 114 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 118 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 57 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 98 nanosieverts per hour

Dover sole – Caught in USA = 105 nanosieverts per hour

     In 2017, researchers moved one step closer to the creation of stable nuclear fission energy generation. They discovered a way to stabilize plasma in fusion reactors which prevents temperatures and densities from oscillating and quenching the fusion reaction. If researchers can control this type of power source, nuclear fusion could be the answer to providing inexhaustible green energy. Now it seems that the researchers are getting closer to stabilizing plasma in fusion reactors in their simulations of physical reactors.
      Recently, a group of researchers in New Jersey at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) at Princeton University ran several simulations to try to stabilize plasma in fusion reactors and they succeeded.
      Plasma is one of the four states of matter. Although solids, liquids and gases are common on Earth, plasmas are found throughout the universe. Stars contain concentrated plasmas. In fusion research, scientists create a plasma of charged particles with extreme temperatures and pressures. Although the creation of the plasma is easy, the stabilization of such plasmas is very difficult.
     Human generated plasmas are often found to oscillate in temperature and pressure. When this happens, any fusion processes taking place are halted. This is referred to as a sawtooth instability which occurs when the current in the plasma becomes strong enough to destabilize and stop the reactions.
     Now, the scientists in New Jersey might have found a way to stabilize plasmas through simulation of nuclear fusion reactors. Researchers copied the example set by the stars and attempted to replicate those same processes within several simulated fusion reactors.
      In the simulated reactors, super-heated hydrogen atoms suspended in plasma, are torn apart and become a cloud of charged ions and electrons. If the conditions are right, the electrons and ions fuse to form helium. This process generates huge amounts of heat and energy that can be used to generate electricity. To keep the current in the core of the plasma, the reactor utilizes a magnetic flux pumping mechanism. This also stabilizes the plasma in order to keep the reaction going.
     Considering the latest simulations, there are two hybrid scenarios that can prompt magnetic flux pumping. One scenario concerns a stable plasma (H-mode) and the other scenario concerns plasma leaking some kind of energy (L-mode). In PPPL simulations, the flux pumping was developed in a hybrid scenario where the current remains constant in the plasma core and the pressure in the plasma is sufficiently high. The combination results in a ‘quasi-interchange mode’ that mixes up the plasma while the magnetic field in deformed. This mixing effect ensures that the current remains stable while avoiding the possibility of sawtooth instability.
     This research effort was led by Isabel Krebs who is a post-doctoral research associate at PPPL. She talked about the future applications of this discovery saying, “This mechanism may be of considerable interest for future large-scale fusion experiments such as ITER.” Clearly, this breakthrough in the stabilization of plasmas is a step in the right direction toward a green energy future.

Ambient office = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside =102 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 77 nanosieverts per hour

Avocado from Central Market = 113 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 128 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Part 4 of 4 Parts (Please read Parts 1, 2 and 3 first)
      A U.S. official said that the AUSUK partnership was the result of months of negotiations by military and political leaders in the U.K who had indicated that it wanted to do more in southeast Asia.
      Following the announcement of the formation of AUSUK, France said that the treaty was brutal and unpredictable. The new trilateral partnership ended Australia’s sixty-billion-dollar deal with France for the construction of a fleet of conventional submarines to replace Australia’s aging submarine fleet. France accused U.S. President Biden of acting like his predecessor Donald Trump and said that Biden had stabbed France in the back.
     Jean-Yves Le Drian is a French politician serving as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs. He has held this position since 2017. He said on French radio that “This brutal, unilateral and unpredictable decision reminds me a lot of what Mr. Trump used to do. I am angry and bitter. This isn’t done between allies.”
      Jacinda Ardern is the Prime Minister of New Zealand. She said that she welcomed the focus on the Indo-Pacific but also said that Australian nuclear-powered submarines would not be allowed in New Zealand territorial waters.
      Singapore issued a statement that said it had long had relations with Australia, the U.K, and the U.S. and hoped that their interaction would continue to contribute to peace and stability in the region.
       Japan said that Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. partnership would contribute to the strengthening of security and defense which was important for stability in southeast Asia.
      Joseph Borrell is the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief. He said that the EU was not consulted on the formation of the new AUKUS partnership. He went on to say that it was obvious that EU foreign policy need to more assertive.
      Borrell added that “We must survive on our own, as others do. I understand the extent to which the French government must be disappointed.”
      President Biden said that the three governments would launch an eighteen-month consultation period “to determine every element of this program, from workforce, to training requirements, to production timelines”. He said the consultation was needed to ensure full compliance with all non-proliferation commitments.
      Among the U.S. companies that could benefit from the new AUKUS partnership are General Dynamics Corporation and Huntington Ingalls Industries.
      General Dynamics Electric Boat business carries out a great deal of the design work on U.S. submarines. Critical subsystems such as electronics and nuclear power plants are made by BWX Technologies.
      U.S. officials have not given any time frame for when Australia would deploy their new nuclear submarines. There has also been no public statement with respect to how many of the new submarines will be constructed. A U.S. official said that the U.S. had shared nuclear propulsion technology only once before. This happened in 1958 with the U.K. The official said that “This is frankly an exception to our policy in many respects… We view this as a one-off.”

Ambient outside = 95 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Watermelon from Central Market = 110 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 116 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 98 nanosieverts per hour

Part 3 of 4 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
     There were many international reactions to the recent Australian announcement of a trilateral deal called AUSUK with the U.S. and the U.K. for the construction of a fleet of nuclear submarines built with U.S. and U.K. technology. Some nations were neutral, others welcomed any action that would contribute to the peace and stability of southeast Asia and some nations were hostile to the formation of the new partnership.
      The three leaders of the nations in the AUSUK partnership stressed that Australia would not be deploying nuclear weapons but that the nuclear propulsion for the new submarines were intended to guard against threats. Prime Minster Morrison stated that Australia would meet all of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. U.S. officials said that nuclear propulsion for Australian submarines would allow their navy to operate more quietly for longer periods and provide deterrence across the Indo-Pacific.
    Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that AUSUK was not intended to be adversarial. He claimed that the new treaty would help reduce the costs of the U.K.’s next generation of nuclear submarines. He told Parliament that “Now that we have created AUKUS we expect to accelerate the development of other advanced defense systems including in cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and undersea capabilities.”
      U.S President Biden said, “We all recognize the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long term. We need to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region, and how it may evolve because the future of each of our nations and indeed the world depends on a free and open Indo-Pacific enduring and flourishing in the decades ahead.”
      When U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister announced the AUSUK, they did not name China. Senior Biden administration officials briefed reporters before the announcement that the AUSUK was not aimed at countering China.
      Today, China denounced the new alliance saying that such partnerships should not target third countries and warning of an intensified arms race in southeast Asia. China’s growing belligerence on the world stage has triggered concern among Western nations which accounts for the creation of the AUSUK. China is currently building new fields of missile launch sites that can handle hundreds of new ICBM. They appear to be preparing to invade Taiwan. They also recently threaten to massively bomb Japan with nuclear warheads if Japan lifted a finger to help Taiwan counter a Chinese invasion. China has also been very active in deploying military resources in the South China Sea.
      Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stated that the three countries participating in AUSUK were “severely damaging regional peace and stability, intensifying an arms race, and damaging international nuclear non-proliferation efforts”.
     Lijian said in a regular briefing in Beijing that “China always believes that any regional mechanism should conform to the trend of peace and development of the times and help enhance mutual trust and cooperation… It should not target any third party or undermine its interests.”
Please read Part 4 next