Arc Reactor- Post 2 - Paul, Liam, Natasha

The arc reactor that Tony Stark wears in the Iron Man movie is theoretically a miniature reactor with a core made of a specific isotope of paladium. The reactor glows blue-white and also has a limited time that it can be used for before having to be changed out. Enthusiasts have hypothesized that it generates an electric current by sending electrons between two radioactive isotopes. Nothing quite like this has been created thus far, and it uses technology similar to “cold fusion.”

ITER Fusion Reactor

The closest actual device to the arc reactor is an ITER fusion reactor (pictured on the right). However, this device is still a prototype. Additionally, these devices are far from being able to be slipped into the chest. The heaviest of the prototypes weighs about 900 tons. Furthermore, the project is still in its early stages. Right now, scientists are creating the first reactor that will actually produce more energy than it uses. Essentially, the arc reactor is a long way off, but the seeds of similar technology have already been planted.

Additionally, the second arc reactor Stark creates using a "new element" would also potentially be able to function in the same way, but with isotopes of the new element replacing palladium isotopes in the reactor.

Overall, the concept of an arc reactor that provides clean and sustainable energy, is not implausible. It certainly appears that a large reactor similar to a nuclear power plan is more likely than the small one that fits into the chest. Regardless of what actually happens in the future, there are some aspects of this technology that we should be aware of and cautioned by:

• Current fusion reactor designs have a lot of magnet coils on the outside of the their cicular shells, whereas the Stark Industries arc reactor has a viewing window. Plasma containment is the single biggest challenge for hot fusion but the arc reactor makes it look effortless. We can therefore conclude that a key technology in the full-scale arc reactor is a way to contain the reaction in a self-sustaining ring.

• In movie, Tony Stark becomes poisoned due to "palladium toxicity." It's very possible that palladium is simply being ejected from the device into Tony's blood by all the high-energy collisions going on, but this doesn't explain the circuit-looking lines on his chest, and it doesn't explain why doctors can't help him. This is a mysterious aspect of the the arc reactor that developers of the technology should be wary of. 

Tony's palladium poisoning 

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/what-is-the-theoryconcept_b_3456241.html