Ibercivis

Introduction

Ibercivis is a project run through the University of Zaragoza in Spain. It is the first Spanish BOINC project, and is designed to not only expand on scientific knowledge, but to bring science closer to the people of Spain. It provides an important tool to Spanish researchers, while allowing citizens of all ages to interact and learn with the researchers while they dedicate computer time.

Ibercivis most importantly a national initiative, so it is not focused on one individual field of science. However, Ibercivis sub projects are currently exploring new ideas in the areas of nuclear fusion, protein docking, materials testing, the chemical strucutre of memory, and light on the nano scale.

Contents

1 Videos 2 Science 2.1 Fusion Research 3 Results 4 Links of Interest 5 Ibercivis in the Classroom

Videos

Video on Ibercivis' work on protein docking.

Video on Ibercivis' fusion work.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ibercivis

Science

Fusion Research

One of the areas Ibercivis does research in is the advancement of fusion power. Fusion power promises to be a clean, viable method of producing energy in the future, free from CO2 emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.

Nuclear fusion takes place when two small nuclei combine together to make a slightly larger nucleus (whereas nuclear fission, the process we get nuclear power from now, is when a very large nucleas is broken into two smaller ones). The resulting nucleus is slightly smaller than the two original nucleus put together, so the extra mass is released as energy. This energy release is the key to fusion power. This same reaction is what keeps our Sun burning.

Click here for more detailed information on Fusion Power and Nuclear Fusion.

Of course, Nuclear Fusion doesn't just happen here on Earth like it does on the Sun. Creating a fusion reaction requires a massive amount of heat and energy. The super-heated material that fusion takes place in is called plasma, and can be up to 100 million (100,000,000) degrees Celcius (or 180 million degrees Fahrenheit). These temperatures make plasma seven times hotter than the core of the Sun. Since research in plasma is fairly recent, many things about it are not understood

Ibercivis, therefore, is conducting research into plasma. Specifically, they are researching how the individual nuclei move about within the plasma. By understanding this motion, they can learn how to create and control fusion reactions more effectively, bringing us closer to a reality of fusion power.

Results

[Where known, we should attempt to keep track of each project's publications. A good list to draw from is here. ]

Links of Interest

[Why recreate the wheel; there are lots of great sources out there.; a good list of sources can be really useful to the reader.]

Ibercivis Home Page - Text in Spanish and English

Ibercivis on Facebook - Text in Spanish

Ibercivis in the Classroom

[For each project, please add a "[Projectname] in the Classroom" section-- with a link toVolunteer Computing In the Classroom and an article named "[Projectname] in the Classroom". (Then please add "[Projectname] in the Classroom" to the list on the main Education page.)]