Nuclear Fusion Reactions Research Articles

New scheme to trigger fusion in a compact magnetic fusion device by combining muon catalysis and alpha heating effects

The application of laser pulses with psec or shorter duration enables nonthermal efficient ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with homogeneous high ion energies exceeding ion current densities of $10^{12}~\text{A}~\text{cm}^{-2}$ . The effects of ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with high energy proton beams are proposed for muon production in a compact magnetic fusion device. The proposed new scheme consists of an ignition fusion spark by muon catalyzed fusion ( $\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}$ CF) in a small mirror-like configuration where low temperature D–T plasma is trapped for a duration of $1~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{s}$ . This initial fusion spark produces sufficient alpha heating in order to initiate the fusion process in the main device. The use of a multi-fluid global particle and energy balance code allows us to follow the temporal evolution of the reaction rate of the fusion process in the device. Recent progress on the ICAN and IZEST projects for high efficient high power and high repetition rate laser systems allows development of the proposed device for clean energy production. With the proposed approaches, experiments on fusion nuclear reactions and $\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}$ CF process can be performed in magnetized plasmas in existing kJ $/$ PW laser facilities as the GEKKO-LFEX, the PETAL and the ORION or in the near future laser facilities as the ELI-NP Romanian pillar.

Cold Atmospheric Plasma in Dentistry

ABSTRACT Introduction Plasma is the fourth state of matter and others are liquid, gas, and solid. Plasma occurs as a natural phenomenon in the universe and appears in the form of fire, in the polar aurora borealis and in the nuclear fusion reactions of the sun. It can be produced artificially which has gained importance in the fields of plasma screens or light sources. Plasma is of two types: Thermal and nonthermal or cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). Thermal plasma has electrons and heavy particles (ions and neutral) at the same temperature. Cold atmospheric plasma is said to be nonthermal as it has electron at a hotter temperature than the heavy particles that are at room temperature. Cold atmospheric plasma is a specific type of plasma, i.e., <104°F at the point of application. It could become a new and painless method to prepare cavities for restoration with improved longevity. Also it is capable of bacterial inactivation and noninflammatory tissue alteration, which makes it an attractive tool for the treatment of dental caries and for composite restorations. Plasma can also be used for tooth whitening. This review focuses on some dental application of plasma. How to cite this article Nair RS, Babu B, Mushtaq E. Cold Atmospheric Plasma in Dentistry. J Oper Dent Endod 2016;1(2):82-86.

Transportation of a radioactive ion beam for precise laser-trapping experiments.

Francium is the heaviest species among the alkali elements. Due to its properties, francium is said to be of advantage in measurements of tiny observations, such as atomic parity violation and electric dipole moment. Before executing experiments with francium, it must be produced artificially because it is one of the most unstable elements. We produced francium with the nuclear fusion reaction of an oxygen beam and gold target, ionized the produced francium through a thermal ionization process, and extracted the ion with electrostatic fields. However, the thermal ionization process is known to ionize not only an objective atom but also other atomic species. Therefore, a Wien filter was installed to analyze the composition of the ion beam and purify the beam. This allowed us to improve the beam purity from ∼10(-6) to ∼10(-3).

On the synthesis of carbon-based structures in nuclear reactions under the action of bremsstrahlung γ gamma-quanta with 10-MeV threshold energy at 1.1-kbar pressure of spectrally pure helium

A helium high-pressure chamber (HeHPC) filled with gaseous helium (its initial pressure is about 1.1 kbar) is irradiated with bremsstrahlung γ quanta with a threshold energy of 10 MeV for 1.0 × 105 s at an electron-beam current of 22–24 μA. Before opening the chamber, the residual helium pressure is established to be 430 bar. Synthesized black foils and numerous other objects are detected inside on the internal surfaces of the reactive chamber fabricated from high purity (99.99%) copper, on the γ-quantum input window made of beryllium bronze, and in the copper collector of nuclear and chemical reaction products. With the help of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microprobe analysis, it is ascertained that the foils mainly consist of carbon and contain smaller amounts of other elements (from carbon to iron). The detected phenomena and anomalies are explained on the basis of the nuclear fusion reactions of helium irradiated with gamma rays by analogy with reactions occurring in stars. The developed approach agrees well with our previous studies where results were obtained under the action of γ quanta on dense hydrogen and deuterium gases.

MATLAB User Interface for Simulation of Silicon Germanium Solar Cell

Nuclear fusion reaction on the sun is the largest source of energy. In this paper, qualitative investigation of the numerical model of silicon germanium heterojunction solar cell is performed using MATLAB graphical user interface. The heterostructure is designed as Si1-xGex for speculative determination of appropriate germanium mole fraction to get the maximized thin-film solar cell efficiency (ή). Other characteristics such as absorption coefficient (α), energy band gap (EgSiGe), reflectivity (r), open circuit voltage (Voc), and generation rate (Gλ,x) are also considered. This user interface will reduce the complexity of solving differential equation for the analysis of silicon germanium heterojunction cell.

A new reasonable scenario to search for ER-alpha energy-time-position correlated sequences in a real time mode

A new real-time PC based algorithm and a compact C++ code to operate in a real-time mode with a 48 × 128 strip double side position sensitive large area silicon radiation detector Micron Semiconductors (UK) are developed and tested. Namely with this new approach it has become possible to provide the quick extraction of EVR-alpha correlated sequences in heavy ion induced complete fusion nuclear reactions. Specific attention is paid to the application of new CAMAC 4 M modules for charge particle position measurement during long-term experiments aimed to the synthesis of new superheavy nuclei. Some attention is paid to the different (combined) algorithm scenario to search for ER-alpha and alpha-alpha chains.

Selected methods of electron-and ion-diagnostics in tokamak scrape-off-layer

Abstract This invited paper considers reasons why exact measurements of fast electron and ion losses in tokamaks, and particularly i n a scrape-off-layer and near a divertor region, are necessary in order to master nuclear fusion energy production. Attention is also paid to direct measurements of escaping fusion products from D-D and D-T reactions, and in particular of fast alphas which might be used for plasma heating. The second part describes the generation of so-called runaway and ripple-born electrons which might induce high energy losses and cause severe damages of internal walls in fusion facilities. Advantages and disadvantages of different diagnostic methods applied for studies of such fast electrons are discussed. Particular attention is paid to development of a direct measuring technique based on the Cherenkov effect which might be induced by fast electrons in appropriate radiators. There are presented various versions of Cherenkov-type probes which have been developed by the NCBJ team and applied in different tokamak experiments. The third part is devoted to direct measurements of fast ions (including those produced by the nuclear fusion reactions) which can escape from a high-temperature plasma region. Investigation of fast fusion-produced protons from tokamak discharges is reported. New ion probes, which were developed by the NCBJ team, are also presented. For the first time there is given a detailed description of an ion pinhole camera, which enables irradiation of several nuclear track detectors during a single tokamak discharge, and a miniature Thomson-type mass-spectrometer, which can be used for ion measurements at plasma borders.

Important problems of future thermonuclear reactors*

Abstract This paper concerns important and difficult problems connected with a design and construction of thermonuclear reactors, which have to use nuclear fusion reactions of heavy isotopes of hydrogen, i.e., deuterium (D) and tritium (T). There are described conditions in which such reactions can occur, and different methods of a high-temperature plasma generation, i.e., high-current electrical discharges, intense microwave pulses, and injection of energetic neutral atoms (NBI). There are also presented experimental facilities which can contain hot plasma for an appropriate period, and particularly so-called tokamaks. The second part presents the technical problems which must be solved in order to build a thermonuclear reactor, that might be used for energetic purposes. There are considered problems connected with a choice of constructional materials for a vacuum chamber, its internal parts, external windings generating a magnetic field, and necessary shields. The next part considers the handling of radioactive tritium; the using of alpha particles (4He) for additional heating of plasma; recuperation of hydrogen isotopes absorbed in the tokamak internal parts, and a removal of a helium excess. There is presented a scheme of a future thermonuclear power plant and critical comments on a road map which should enable the construction of an industrial thermonuclear reactor (DEMO).

Helium-3 Generation from the Interaction of Deuterium Plasma inside a Hydrogenated Lattice: Red Fusion

Helium-3 has been created in a nuclear fusion reaction by fusing deuterium ions from deuterium plasma with hydrogen ions in a “RED” (the Spanish word for net) or crystal lattice, a method we called red fusion (“Fusion en la red cristalina”), because is a new method to make nuclear fusion reaction. In this paper, it will be show the experimental results where the helium-3 has been generated for the first time in this kind of new method to confine deuterium and hydrogen inside the RED or lattice of the hydrogenated crystal and that confinement inside the RED facilitated overcoming the Coulomb barrier between them and helium-3 and phonons are produced in this fusion reaction. The results of a long time research in which helium-3, has been created in a fusion reaction inside the lattice or RED of the crystal that contained hydrogen after adequate interaction of deuterium plasma at appropriate high temperature and magnetic confinement of the Mirror/Cusp Plasma Machine at Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, designed by the authors. Several mass spectra and visible light spectrum where the presence of helium-3 was detected are shown. The experiment was repeated more than 200 times showing always the generation of helium-3. In this experiment no gamma rays were detected. For this experiment several diagnostic instruments were used. The data collection with these control instrumentation are shown. Thus, it is an important new way to generate Helium-3. © 2013 NEOPOWERTECH, LLC. All rights reserved.

Survey of muon stripping in the muon-catalyzed $d-d$ fusion cycle in pure deuterium

Muon-catalyzed fusion is a very efficient nuclear fusion method to which a wide variety of experimental and theoretical studies have been devoted in recent years. The mixtures of hydrogen isotopes are the most appropriate particles to do this kind of fusion. The efficiency of muon-catalyzed fusion in mixtures of pure deuterium is due to the abundance of this isotope as compared to other hydrogen isotopes. The most important issue of reducing the efficiency of the muon-catalyzed fusion chain in pure deuterium mixtures is the probability of muons sticking to the helium-3 particle produced after the $d-d$ nuclear fusion reaction. In this investigation, the density dependence of the slowing down, muon stripping, and effective sticking in pure deuterium fuel are presented by considering all possible effective processes and solving a set of coupled differential equations. The results show that our calculated values are in agreement with available experimental and theoretical data.

D-D nuclear fusion processes induced in polyethylene foams by TW Laser-generated plasma

Deuterium-Deuterium fusion processes were generated by focusing the 3 TW PALS Laser on solid deuterated polyethylene targets placed in vacuum. Deuterium ion acceleration of the order of 4 MeV was obtained using laser irradiance Iλ 2 ∼ 5 × 1016 W μ m2 /cm2 on the target. Thin and thick targets, at low and high density, were irradiated and plasma properties were monitored “on line” and “off line”. The ion emission from plasma was monitored with Thomson Parabola Spectrometer, track detectors and ion collectors. Fast semiconductor detectors based on SiC and fast plastic scintillators, both employed in time-of-flight configuration, have permitted to detect the characteristic 3.0 MeV protons and 2.45 MeV neutrons emission from the nuclear fusion reactions. From massive absorbent targets we have evaluated the neutron flux by varying from negligible values up to about 5 × 107 neutrons per laser shot in the case of foams targets, indicating a reaction rate of the order of 108 fusion events per laser shot using “advanced targets”.

Effect of pairing on transfer and fusion reactions

In the present contribution, the effect of pairing on nuclear transfer and fusion reactions close to the Coulomb barrier is discussed. A Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock + BCS (TDHF+BCS) microscopic theory has been developed to incorporate pairing. One- and two-particle transfer probabilities can be obtained showing the importance of pairing. The calculated transfer probabilities are compared to the recent experimental results obtained for the $^{96}$Zr+$^{40}$Ca. Reactions involving the $^{18}$O with lead isotopes are also presented, that are also of current experimental interest. Finally, a study of the fusion barrier height predicted with the TDHF+BCS theory is compared to the experimental values for the $^{40,44,48}$Ca+$^{40}$Ca reactions.

Time-dependent Density Functional Studies of Nuclear Quantum Dynamics in Large Amplitudes

The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) provides a unified description of the structure and reaction. The linear approximation leads to the random-phase approximation (RPA) which is capable of describing a variety of collective motion in a harmonic regime. Beyond the linear regime, we present applications of the TDDFT to nuclear fusion and fission reaction. In particular, the extraction of the internuclear potential and the inertial mass parameter is performed using two different methods. A fusion hindrance mechanism for heavy systems is investigated from the microscopic point of view. The canonical collective variables are determined by the adiabatic self-consistent collective coordinate method. Preliminary results of the spontaneous fission path, the potential, and the collective mass parameter are shown for 8Be --> alpha+alpha.

The Present Status of Cold Fusion and its Expected Influence on Science and Technology

The nuclear reaction called cold fusion or low energy nuclear reaction (LENR) has been rejected by conventional science for 25 years. Since then, evidence has accumulated to prove that nuclear reactions can be initiated in special materials without application of significant energy or production of significant radiation. This paper briefly surveys a selection of the evidence and the conclusions about the unusual new phenomenon that this information supports.

Application of Advanced Nuclear Emulsion Technique to Fusion Neutron Diagnostics

In order to measure the 2.5 MeV neutrons produced by DD nuclear fusion reactions, we have developed a compact neutron detector based on nuclear emulsion. After optimization of development conditions, we evaluated the response of the detector to an accelerator-based DD neutron source. The absolute efficiency at an energy of 2.5 MeV was estimated to be (4.1±0.2)×10-6 tracks/neutron.

Characterization of Secondary Electron Collection for Energy Recovery from High Energy Ions with a Magnetic Field

A traveling wave direct energy converter (TWDEC) is expected to be used as an energy recovery device for fast protons produced during the D-3He nuclear fusion reaction. Some protons, however, are not fully decelerated and pass through the device. A secondary electron direct energy converter (SEDEC) was proposed as an additional device to recover the protons passing through a TWDEC. In our previous study, magnetic field was applied for efficient secondary electron (SE) collection, but the SEs were reflected close to the collector due to the magnetic mirror effect and the collection was degraded. Herein, a new arrangement of magnets is proposed to be set away from the collector, and experiments in various conditions are performed. An appropriate arrangement away from the collector resulted in the improvement of SE collection.

Method of “Active Correlations” for DSSSD detector application

Real-time PC based algorithm is developed for DSSSD (Double Side Silicon Strip Detector) detector. Brief description of the detection system is also presented. Complete fusion nuclear reaction nat Yt + 48 Ca → 217 Th is used to test this algorithm at 48Ca beam. Example of successful application of a former algorithm for resistive strip PIPS (resistive strip Passivated Implanted Planar Silicon) detector is presented too.

In situ synthesis of volatile carbonyl complexes with short-lived nuclides

Rapid in situ formation of metal carbonyl complexes with short-lived nuclides has been demonstrated to be feasible with recoiling ions formed in nuclear fusion and fission reactions. These carbonyl complexes are highly volatile and can be transported rapidly in a gas-stream to counting or chemistry devices. This method was already successfully applied in the chemical investigation of the superheavy element seaborgium (Z = 106) and appears promising for various fields of nuclear research. In this article, we give an overview on the current status of metal carbonyl complex studies with short-lived d-element isotopes.

Nickel – the Ultimate Substitute of Coal, Oil and Uranium

During E-CAT test run some hidden and unknown energy is being coming out in the form of heat energy in large quantity. Based on the principle of conservation of energy and from the well known nuclear fusion and fission reactions it is possible to guess that, the E-CAT hidden energy may be in the form of binding of protons and neutrons of the Nickel and Lithium atomic nuclei. By considering the nuclear binding energies of (58@28)Ni, (62@28)Ni and (7@3)Li an attempt is made to understand the energy liberation mechanism in E-CAT. With reference to the net energy production of (5825 ± 10%) Mega Joules liberated from one gram Ni of the E-CAT’s 32 days third party test run, it can be suggested that, for every transformation of (58@28)Ni to (62@28)Ni via(7@3)Li, liberated heat energy is 3.64 MeV and for one gram of (58@28)Ni liberated energy is 5984 Mega Joules. For each transformation of (58@28)Ni to (62@28)Ni via(7@3)Li, 3 hydrogen atoms can be expected to be emitted. Note that, energy liberated for one gram of (58@28)Ni in cold fusion is 1.66 MWh and energy liberated for one gram of (235@92)U in nuclear fission is 22.6 MWh. Clearly speaking, energy released in Nickel based E-CAT is just 13.6 times less than the energy released in Uranium fission.

Pioneering experiments on the chemical properties of element 113

First experimental results of a chemical investigation of element 113 independently confirm the synthesis of the new elements 115 and 113 in the nuclear fusion reaction of 48Ca + 243Am and indicate a chemical behaviour resembling a species with a high volatility, a weak interaction with inert surfaces and an enhanced reactivity towards gold surfaces.