CN111133841A - Bench reactor - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods, devices, apparatus and systems for generating and controlling nuclear fusion reactions. Due to ion-neutral coupling, hydrogen atoms or other neutral species (neutrals) are induced to move rotationally in a confinement region, where the ions are driven by electric and magnetic fields. The controlled fusion reactions include a series of reactions, including neutron-free reactions such as proton-boron-11 fusion reactions.

Description

Bench reactor

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit and priority of a continuation-in-part application entitled U.S. patent application serial No. 15/594491 entitled tabeltop reader (bench reactor) filed on 12/5/2017. This application is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application serial No. 15/589902, entitled REACTOR USING electric and magnetic fields, filed on 8.5.2017; a continuation-in-part application entitled U.S. patent application serial No. 15/589913 (REACTOR using electric and magnetic fields) filed on 8.5.2017 and entitled REACTOR using magnetic field and magnetic field; a continuation application in part of U.S. patent application serial No. 15/679094 entitled REACTOR USING electric and magnetic fields, filed on 8/16/2017, a continuation application in part of U.S. patent application serial No. 15/679094, a continuation application in U.S. patent application serial No. 15/589886 filed on 8/5/2017, a filed on 8/2017, a filed on REACTOR USING electric and magnetic fields, a REACTOR USING; a continuation application, in part, U.S. patent application serial No. 15/679091 entitled REACTOR USING AZIMUTHALLY varying electric field filed on 8/16 2017, which was filed on 15/679091, a continuation application, in part, U.S. patent application serial No. 15/589905 entitled REACTOR USING AZIMUTHALLY varying electric field filed on 5/8 2017; and us patent application serial No. 15/590962 filed on 9/5/2017 and entitled WATER HEATER (water heater). U.S. patent application serial No. 15/589902, filed on 27.6.2014, entitled METHODS, DEVICES AND SYSTEMS FOR FUSION REACTIONS, was filed a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application serial No. 14/318246, 14/318246, which claims the following benefits: (i) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/840428 filed 2013, month 6, day 27; (ii) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/925114, filed on 8/1/2014; (iii) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/925131, filed on 8/1/2014; (iv) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/925122, filed on 8/1/2014; (v) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/925148, filed on 8/1/2014; (vi) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/925142, filed on 8/1/2014; (vii) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/841834 filed on 7/1/2013; (viii) U.S. provisional application serial No. 61/843015. Each of the above priority applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to inter-nuclear reactions and reactors for initiating and maintaining these inter-nuclear reactions.

Background

Since the 50 s of the 20 th century, the scientific community has been striving to achieve controlled and economically feasible fusion. Fusion is an attractive energy source for many reasons, but after billions of dollars and decades of research, the idea of continuing fusion for the most part for clean energy has become a nightmare. It has been a challenge to find a way to maintain fusion reactions in an economical, safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly manner. This challenge has proven extremely difficult. The belief commonly held in the art is that 25-50 years of research will be undertaken before fusion becomes a viable option for power generation, just as it is an old joke, "fusion is a future source of energy — and will always be" ("Next article ratio?, 2011, 9, 3, the economist).

Previous efforts for large-scale fusion research have focused primarily on two methods of generating conditions for fusion ignition: inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and magnetic confinement fusion. ICF attempts to initiate the fusion reaction by compressing and heating fusion reactants (e.g., a mixture of deuterium and tritium) in the form of pellets of approximately the size of a needle. Energy is provided by delivering a high energy laser, electron or ion beam to the fuel targeted fuel, causing the heated outer layer of the target fuel to explode and generate a shock wave that propagates inwardly through the fuel pellets, compressing and heating the fusion reactants, thereby initiating the fusion reaction.

At the time of filing this patent application, the most successful ICF program was National Ignition Facility (NIF), which spent nearly 35 billion dollars to build and completed in 2009. NIF achieved a milestone by causing the fuel particles to emit more energy than was applied to them, but by 2015, NIF experiments only achieved about 1/3 for the energy required for ignition. With respect to sustainable reactions, the longest ICF fusion reaction times reported are on the order of 150 picoseconds. Even though ICF efforts achieve ignition conditions, there are still many obstacles to making it a viable energy source. For example, there is a need for a solution that removes heat from the reaction chamber without interfering with the fuel target and the driving beam, and a solution that mitigates the short life of the fusion device, due to the radioactive byproducts of the fusion reactants: deuterium and tritium react to produce neutrons.

The second main direction of research, magnetic confinement fusion, attempts to induce fusion by using a magnetic field to confine the thermal fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. This method seeks to prolong the time of close contact of the ions and increase the likelihood of their fusion. The magnetic fusion device applies a magnetic force to the charged particles such that when balanced with a centripetal force, the particles are caused to move in a circular or helical path within the plasma. Magnetic confinement prevents the hot plasma from contacting its reactor wall. In magnetic confinement, fusion occurs entirely within the plasma.

Most studies of magnetic confinement are based on the Tokamak (Tokamak) design, in which a thermal plasma is confined within a toroidal magnetic field. The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) of princeton, new jersey is the first magnetic fusion device in the world to perform a number of scientific experiments with plasmas consisting of 50/50 deuterium/tritium. TFTR was proposed to hope that fusion energy will be achieved in the end, as established in 1980, but never reached this goal, and was turned off in 1997. To date, the longest plasma duration for any tokamak is 6 minutes 30 seconds, held by Tore Supra tokamak, france. Current efforts for magnetic confinement fusion are focused on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which is the tokamak reactor that began to be built in 2013. By 6 months in 2015, construction costs have exceeded 140 billion dollars, and the construction of facilities is expected to be 2019, with all deuterium-tritium tests beginning in 2027. Currently the cost of the project is estimated to exceed $ 500 billion, and the cost may continue to rise. Recently, a recommendation for the United states to withdraw an ITER project was issued by the energy and water event development team Committee of the Admission Committee. Due to market reality and the inherent limitations of tokamak designs for fusion power generation, many analysts suspect that fusion reactors such as ITER will become commercially viable.

Maryland centrifugation of Maryland universityAn alternative form of magnetic confinement is being investigated by experiments (MCX). It will test the concept of centrifugal constraint and velocity shear stability. In this experiment, the capacitance was vented from the cylindrical cathode to the surrounding vacuum chamber by hydrogen gas in the presence of a magnetic field. Orthogonal electric and magnetic fields (denoted as J B) produce plasma that drives thermionic ionization ((B))>10⁵K) A force surrounding the rotation of the discharge electrode. Due to the significant variation in plasma boundary temperature, there are inevitably cold neutral species that significantly affect the plasma flow. Research has focused on the effects of neutrals and it is believed that they "block the required plasma rotation" that is required for fusion conditions. "neutral species" or simply "neutrals" are atoms or molecules having a neutral charge, i.e., they have the same number of electrons and protons, atomic number in the case of atoms. The ions or ionized atoms or other particles have a charge, i.e., they have at least one more electron than proton or at least one more proton than electron.

Rotating plasma devices that do not employ highly ionized plasma have been considered for fusion studies, but neutrals have been seen as a problem in achieving fusion conditions. Due to restrictive effects including neutral resistance and instability, one researcher in the art believes that, although "not entirely impossible," spin PLASMAS alone are still unlikely to achieve a self-sustaining Fusion reactor (review article: ROTATING PLASMAS, Lehnart, Nuclear Fusion 11 (1971)).

All trusted existing approaches face constraint and engineering issues. The total energy balance Q of the fusion reactor is defined as follows:

Q＝E_fusion/E_in，

wherein E_fusionIs the total energy released by the fusion reaction, and E_inIs the energy used to generate the reaction. The goal is that Q exceeds 1 or "1 unit" at the end of the production of usable energy. Officials of the European Union Ring Accelerator (JET) claim to have achieved Q ≈ 0.7, and the United states national ignition device has recently claimed to have achieved Q>1 (neglecting the very significant energy loss of its laser). The case where Q ═ 1, called "production balance" (break), indicates that the amount of energy released by the fusion reaction is equal to the amount of energy input. In practice, reactors used to generate electricity should have Q values much greater than 1 to be commercially viable, as only a portion of the fusion energy can be converted into a useful form. The conventional thought is that the plasma with strong ionization without a large amount of neutral matters has the effect of realizing Q>1. These conditions limit the particle density and energy confinement time achievable in a fusion reactor. Therefore, the Lawson criterion (Lawson criterion) is considered in the art as a benchmark for controlled fusion reactions, which is considered to be achievable by nobody when all energy inputs are considered. The pursuit of lawson's standard or substantially similar paradigm in the art has resulted in fusion devices and systems that are bulky, complex, difficult to manage, expensive, and also economically infeasible. The common formula for the Lawson standard, called triple product, is as follows:

although the lawson standard will not be discussed in detail herein; in essence, the criteria indicate particle density (n), temperature (T)) and confinement time (τ)_E) Must be greater than a number that depends on the energy (E) of the charged fusion products_ch) Boltzmann constant (k)_B) Fusion cross section (σ), relative velocity (v) and temperature to achieve ignition conditions. For deuterium-tritium reactions, the minimum of the triple product occurs at T ═ 14keV, and the value of the triple product is about 3 x 10²¹keV s/m³(J.Wesson, "Tokamaks", Oxford Engineering Science Series No 48 (Oxford Engineering Science Series 48), ClarendonPress, Oxford, 2 nd edition, 1997). Indeed, the industry standard paradigm suggests that using deuterium-tritium fusion reactions requires temperatures in excess of 1.5 hundred million degrees celsius to achieve a positive energy balance. For proton-boron 11 fusion, the Lawson standard suggests that the required temperature must be substantially higher. More specifically, n.tau.about.10¹⁶s/cm³About 100 times higher than that required for fusion of deuterium and tritium [ inert electrically stable Co from George H.Miley and S.Krupaker MuraliInfitement (IEC) Fusion: Fundamentals and Applications (inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) Fusion: foundation and Applications).

One aspect of the lawson standard is based on the premise that: thermal energy must be continuously added to the plasma to replace lost energy, maintain the plasma temperature and keep it fully or highly ionized. In particular, the main source of energy loss in conventional fusion systems is due to the radiation caused by the bremsstrahlung and cyclotron motion of electrons as they interact with ions in the thermal plasma. The lawson standard for the fusion method is established, where electron radiation losses are an important consideration, due to the use of a hot and heavily ionized plasma with highly mobile electrons.

Because conventional thinking has thought that high temperature and strongly ionized plasma is required, there are no substantial neutrals present, and further, it has been thought that inexpensive physical shielding of the reaction is not possible. Therefore, the most sought after methods in the past have been directed to complex and expensive solutions to accommodate reactions, such as those with magnetic confinement systems (e.g., ITER tokamak) and for inertial confinement systems (e.g., NIF lasers).

In fact, at least one source acknowledges the considered impossibility of using physical structures to accommodate fusion reactions: the simplest and most obvious way to provide plasma confinement is by direct contact with the material wall, but this is not possible for two fundamental reasons: the wall will cool the plasma and most of the wall material will melt. We envision that the fusion plasma here requires about 10⁸K, while metals typically melt at temperatures below 5000K ("fusion Energy principle)" a.a.harms et al). The need for very high temperatures is premised on the idea that only charged high-energy ions can fuse, and that coulomb repulsion limits the fusion events. The current teachings in this field rely on this basic assumption for the vast majority of all studies and projects.

In rare cases, researchers have considered methods to reduce the coulomb barrier or repulsion force (which repels the interacting positive nuclei) to reduce the energy required to initiate and maintain fusion. These methods and the above-described methods are largely unappreciated because they are not feasible.

In the 50 s of the 20 th century, Luis Alvarez studied the concept of muon catalyzed fusion using hydrogen alveola at the university of california at berkeley's division. Work by Alverez ("Catalysis of Nuclear Reactions by μ Mesons" Nuclear Reactions catalyzed by μ Mesons) "Physical review.105, Alvarez, L.W. et al (1957)) demonstrated that Nuclear fusion occurs at temperatures significantly below those required for thermonuclear fusion. Theoretically, it is proposed that fusion can occur even at or below room temperature. In this process, a negatively charged muon replaces one electron in a hydrogen molecule. Since muons have a mass 207 times greater than that of electrons, the hydrogen nuclei are therefore stretched 207 times closer than in normal molecules. When the nuclei are close together, the likelihood of nuclear fusion increases substantially until a large number of fusion events can occur at room temperature.

While muon catalyzed fusion receives some attention, efforts to produce muon catalyzed fusion have not been successful at present techniques for producing large numbers of muons require large amounts of energy, which exceeds the energy produced by catalyzed nuclear fusion reactions, thus hampering the production balance (breakeven) or Q > 1. furthermore, each muon has about 1% chance of "sticking" to α particles produced by nuclear fusion of deuterium nuclei (nuclei of deuterium atoms) with tritium nuclei (nuclei of tritium atoms), removing "stuck" muons from the catalytic cycle, which means that each muon can only catalyze up to a few hundred fusion-tritium nuclear reactions.

In 3 months 1989, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons filed an article to the Journal of electrochemical Chemistry that reported that they discovered a method to reduce the coulomb barrier by what is now commonly referred to as "cold fusion". Fleischmann and Pons believe that they have observed nuclear reaction byproducts and the large amount of heat generated by bench-top experiments involving the electrolysis of heavy water on the surface of palladium electrodes. One explanation for cold fusion is that hydrogen and its isotopes can be absorbed in high density in certain solids (e.g., palladium). The absorption of hydrogen creates a high partial pressure, reducing the average spacing of hydrogen isotopes and thus lowering the potential barrier. Another explanation is that electron shielding of the positive hydrogen nuclei in the palladium lattice is sufficient to lower the barrier.

Although the discovery of Fleischmann-Pons initially received great attention, acceptance by the scientific community was of paramount importance to a great extent, as a team of the Georgia university soon discovered problems with their neutron detectors, and the university of Texas agricultural discovered that their thermometers were miswired. These experimental errors, as well as many failures by the well-known laboratories to attempt to replicate the Fleischmann-Pons experiment, led the scientific community to conclude that any positive experimental results should not be attributed to "fusion". Partly due to public concern, the U.S. department of energy (DOE) organized a panel to examine the theory and study of cold fusion. The united states energy agency concluded first in 1989 at 11 months and again in 2004 that the results to date provided no convincing evidence that useful energy would result from phenomena attributed to "cold fusion".

Another attempt to reduce the coulomb barrier employs electron shielding in a solid matrix. Electron shielding was first observed in a constant star plasma, and it was determined that the fusion rate changed by five orders of magnitude if the shielding factor changed by only a few percent (Wilets, L. et al, "Effect of screening on thermal fusion in stellar and laboratory plasmas", the analytical Journal 530.1(2000): 504). According to Wilets, the rate of thermonuclear fusion in the plasma is dominated by barrier penetration. The potential barrier itself is dominated by the coulomb repulsion of the fusion nuclei. Since the potential of the barrier appears in the exponent of the Gamow formula, the result is very sensitive to the shielding effect of electrons and positive ions in the plasma. Shielding lowers the barrier, thus increasing the fusion rate; the larger the nuclear charge, the more important the shielding.

One example of an attempt to utilize this electron shielding effect to create ignition conditions is set forth in U.S. patent publication No. US2005/0129160A1 to Robert Inech. In this application, Indech describes an electron shield of positively charged repulsive forces between two deuterons located near the tip of the microscopic conical structure when the electrons are concentrated at the top of the conical structure due to the applied potential. As disclosed, these cones are arranged on a surface having dimensions of 3 cm x 3 cm.

Although Indech et al have achieved potential electron shielding to reduce the coulomb barrier of the fusion reactor, it is doubtful that any effort has been successful. At most these efforts seem to suggest an ignition method, rather than a continuous and controlled fusion reaction method. Despite efforts at ICF, magnetic confinement fusion, and various methods of reducing coulomb barriers, there are currently no commercially viable fusion reactor designs.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for providing mechanical or electrical energy. The apparatus includes a reactor and one or more energy conversion modules configured to convert at least some of the energy released by interactions in the reactor into mechanical and/or electrical energy. The reactor includes: (i) a confinement wall at least partially surrounding a confinement region within which the charged particles and neutrals are rotatable, wherein the confinement wall has a maximum diameter of less than about 50 centimeters; (ii) a plurality of electrodes adjacent or proximate to the confinement region; (iii) a control system comprising a voltage and/or current source configured to apply an electrical potential between at least two of the plurality of electrodes, wherein the applied electrical potential generates an electric field within the confinement region that induces and/or maintains rotational motion of the charged particles and neutrals within the confinement region, alone or in combination with a magnetic field; and (iv) a reactant disposed in or adjacent the confinement region such that, during operation, repeated collisions between the neutrals and the reactant produce interactions with the reactant, the interactions releasing energy and producing a product having a nuclear mass different from the nuclear mass of either of the neutrals and the nuclei of the reactant.

In some embodiments, the plurality of electrodes are azimuthally distributed around a confinement region of the reactor, and the control system is configured to induce rotational motion of the charged particles and neutrals in the confinement region by applying a time-varying voltage to the plurality of electrodes.

In some embodiments, the reactor is configured to induce rotational motion of the charged particles and neutrals in the confinement region through interaction between an electric field and an applied magnetic field within the confinement region. In some cases, the applied magnetic field is generated by at least one permanent magnet, and in some cases, the applied magnetic field is generated by at least two permanent ring magnets separated by a spacer. In some cases, each permanent ring magnet is separated from an adjacent permanent ring magnet by a distance of about 0.5 inches to about 1.5 inches.

In some embodiments, the electron emitter is disposed in or adjacent to the confinement region such that the electron emitter emits electrons into the confinement region during operation of the reactor.

In some embodiments, the reactor includes an inlet valve configured to regulate the flow of neutrals to the reactor. In some cases, neutrals are supplied to the confinement region through an inlet valve from a gas tank (e.g., a replaceable or refillable tank). A pressure gauge may be used to monitor the amount of neutrals (e.g., reactant gases) supplied to the confinement region or the pressure within the confinement region. The reactor may further comprise an outlet valve for removing gas from the confined area. In some cases, a pump may be connected (be attached to) the outlet valve to reduce the pressure within the confinement region. For example, the pump may be configured to reduce the pressure within the confinement region to less than about 1E-8 Torr.

In some embodiments, the apparatus includes an electrical energy storage device (e.g., a battery or a capacitor). The energy storage device may be used to store electrical energy generated by the energy conversion module. In some cases, the control system may be configured to apply an electrical potential between electrodes of the reactor using energy from the electrical energy storage device. In some cases, the control system may be configured to receive power from an ac power source (e.g., from an industrial or multi-phase outlet). In some embodiments, the reactor is configured to generate at least about 5 kilowatts of power. In some embodiments, the reactor is configured to generate less than about 100 kilowatts or about 1 megawatt of power.

In some embodiments, one or more energy conversion modules generate electrical energy, and the apparatus has circuitry for regulating the current and/or voltage supplied to a load (e.g., a battery or an external device). In some cases, the apparatus has an alternator that converts the direct current generated by the energy conversion module into alternating current.

In some embodiments, the reactant comprises lanthanum hexaboride or another material containing boron-11. The reactor may be configured such that if lanthanum hexaboride is consumed or needs to be replaced, additional lanthanum hexaboride can be added to the reactor.

In some embodiments, the reactor has a heat exchanger configured to remove thermal energy from one of the electrodes. For example, the electrode may have a fluid circuit through a conduit in the electrode.

In some embodiments, the reactor has a ceramic brake that electrically isolates the high voltage portion of the reactor from the grounded portion of the reactor. The ceramic brake may comprise an electrically insulating material, such as alumina.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may include a housing that may partially or completely surround the reactor. The housing may also partially or completely enclose the energy conversion module. In some cases, the enclosure may provide support for one of the reactor or the energy conversion module. In some cases, the enclosure may provide thermal or electrical insulation between the reactor or energy conversion module and the surrounding environment. In some cases, the housing may define the dimensions of the device. In some cases, its footprint may be less than about 4 square meters, in some cases, less than about 2 square meters. In some cases, the housing may include one or more flanges (flanges) that may be attached to the containment wall to separate the containment region from the surrounding environment.

In some embodiments, the at least one energy conversion module is a Stirling engine (Stirling engine), a photovoltaic cell, a thermoelectric generator, a magnetohydrodynamic generator, or a module that converts kinetic energy of the interacting products into electrical energy.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for generating mechanical and/or electrical energy from a bench reactor (tabletop reactor). The method includes operations (a) through (c). Operation (a) includes applying an electric field between at least two of the plurality of electrodes adjacent or near the confinement region such that the applied electric field at least partially traverses the confinement region and induces rotational motion of the particles and neutrals within the confinement region. The rotational motion causes repeated collisions of neutrals with reactants disposed in or adjacent to the confinement region, and the interactions produce products having nuclear masses different from those of the nuclei of the particles and fusion reactants. This interaction further releases energy. Operation (b) includes receiving energy at an energy conversion module, wherein the energy conversion module generates mechanical energy or electrical energy. Operation (c) is to provide the generated mechanical and/or electrical energy to a load (load).

In some cases, the rotating neutrals contain hydrogen and the target material includes boron-11. In some cases, the energy conversion module is a stirling engine, a photovoltaic cell, a thermoelectric generator, a magnetohydrodynamic generator, or a module that converts kinetic energy of the interacting products into electrical energy. In some cases, the conversion module generates electrical energy and supplies the energy to an electrical energy storage device.

Drawings

Fig. 1a-c depict several views of a first embodiment reactor.

Fig. 2a-b schematically illustrate the movement of charged and neutral particles rotating within a confinement wall.

Fig. 3a-d schematically depict the interaction of neutrals and charged particles with a confinement wall.

FIGS. 4a-e schematically depict stages of an neutronic proton-boron-11 fusion reaction.

Fig. 5a-d depict a reverse electric polarity reactor.

Fig. 6a-f depict a hybrid reactor.

Fig. 7a-b depict a wave-particle reactor.

Figures 8a-b depict various electrode configurations of the first embodiment reactor.

Fig. 9a-c depict various cross-sections of a first embodiment reactor.

Fig. 10a-d depict a first embodiment reactor in which the axial magnetic field is applied by a superconducting magnet.

Fig. 11a-b depict a first embodiment reactor in which permanent magnets are arranged to apply an axial magnetic field in the first embodiment reactor.

Fig. 12a-b depict a first embodiment reactor in which the magnetic field applied in the confinement region is applied using permanent magnets.

Fig. 13a-c depict the configuration of a first embodiment reactor.

Figures 14a-c depict the configuration of a first embodiment reactor.

Fig. 15a-c depict how the ring magnets are positioned along a common axis to produce a magnetic field that is directed substantially along that axis.

Fig. 16a-c depict a first embodiment reactor in which the magnetic field applied in the confinement region is applied using a ring magnet.

Fig. 17a-c depict a first embodiment reactor in which the magnetic field applied in the confinement region is applied using radially offset magnets.

Figures 18a-d depict a first embodiment reactor in which the magnetic field applied in the confinement region is applied using an electromagnet.

Fig. 19a-b depict various embodiments of a reverse electric polarity reactor.

Fig. 20a-b depict various electron emitters that may be placed on the confining walls.

Fig. 21a-b depict electron emission modules that may be placed on the confinement walls of a reactor.

FIG. 22 depicts a reactor provided with a laser that increases or controls electron emission from an electron emitter.

Fig. 23a-c depict an arrangement in which nuclear magnetic resonance induction (sensing) is used to determine the composition of gaseous reactants within a reactor.

FIG. 24 depicts how the control system is configured to operate the reactor using closed loop feedback.

FIG. 25 depicts an example of a multi-stage process flow that may be used to operate a reactor.

26a-b depict an example of a bench-top reactor according to the disclosed embodiments.

Fig. 27 depicts a reactor configured with a heat engine.

Detailed Description

Introduction to the design reside in

Various embodiments disclosed herein relate to reactors and methods of operating those reactors under conditions that induce a reaction between two or more nuclei to produce a manner of generating more energy than is input to the reactor. This disclosure refers to such reactions as nuclear fusion reactions or simply fusion reactions, although aspects of the reactions may differ quantitatively or qualitatively from aspects of reactions traditionally characterized by nuclear fusion. Thus, when the term "fusion" is used in the remainder of this disclosure, the term does not necessarily mean that it possesses all of the features traditionally attributed to nuclear fusion. In some embodiments disclosed herein, the reactor can produce a sustained fusion reaction, making it suitable as a viable energy source. As described herein, a sustained fusion reaction refers to a fusion reaction in which the reactor can be operated continuously for a time unit in excess of about one second.

In various embodiments, the reactor in which the fusion reaction occurs is designed or configured to confine or confine a rotating mass, which typically includes one or more nuclei that participate in the fusion reaction. Various structures may be provided for constraining the rotating mass. Typically, although not necessarily, these structures define a solid physical enclosure. As explained in detail elsewhere herein, the enclosed structure may have many shapes, for example a generally cylindrical shape. Examples of suitable structures that may be used for the physical enclosure are depicted in fig. 1, 7 and 6.

Despite any other function, the walls of the reactor are typically used to restrict rotation of matter in the region adjacent to and inside the walls. To some extent, the walls are confining (confining) which confines the rotating mass to remain within the reactor. As described herein, this wall of the reactor is referred to as a wall, containment wall or shroud. In various embodiments, the walls also serve other functions: particularly as electrodes, as magnets, as a source of fusion reactants (e.g., boron compounds), and/or as electron emitters. This is different from any conventional fusion reactor design because the walls confine the reactant species by physical means rather than by magnetic fields and pressure waves, which are used in conventional fusion methods. Other functions, such as serving as electrodes for imparting a voltage difference, as magnets, as a source of reactant material, and as electron emitters, provide additional differences from conventional fusion reactor designs.

In certain embodiments, the reactor comprises said wall and a space inside the wall (which may be annular in shape), in which the reactant species (including a large fraction or percentage of neutrals) rotate and repeatedly impinge on the surface of the reactor wall and sometimes fuse with species present in the wall. When the energy input of the reactor is taken into account, the resulting reaction can yield a balance of needs and result in Q > 1. To ensure that the cohesive reaction is sustainable over the period of time required for the application of specific energy generation, the ratio of energy output to energy input should be significantly greater than 1. This is due to the inherent inefficiency of using the energy produced by the fusion reactions to maintain the conditions (e.g., a particular plasma density in the confinement region) that allow fusion to occur. In certain embodiments, the ratio should be at least about 1.2. In certain embodiments, the ratio should be at least about 1.5. In certain embodiments, the ratio should be at least about 2. In certain embodiments, the reactor is operated continuously under sustainable conditions for at least about fifteen minutes, or at least about one hour. In one example, hydrogen atoms rotate in the reactor and impinge boron or lithium atoms in the reactor wall to fuse. In some embodiments, the reactor includes one or more electron emitters that generate a flux of electrons that, during operation, generate a strong field that reduces coulomb repulsion between interacting nuclei.

The reactant can be any substance that can support a fusion reaction in the space inside the containment wall of the reactor. In various embodiments, at least one of the reactants is a substance that rotates within the reactor interior region. In some cases, both reactants are rotating substances. In some cases, one of the reactants is a rotating mass and the other is a mass that remains stationary, such as when the reactants are embedded in a portion of a reactor wall that constrains the rotating mass. In some cases, there are some combinations of rotating and stationary reactants, such that fusion occurs between rotating substances or between a rotating substance and a stationary substance. In the case where the reactant species are primarily rotating species, the physical structure of the reactor can be arranged so that the rotating species do not have to strike the inner surface of the reactor wall in large numbers to support the fusion reaction. In some designs, the rotating masses are limited by forces, such as forces that prevent them from substantially striking the reactor wall. In such designs, the two rotating substances fuse at a region inside the confinement wall (e.g., the confinement region) or along the surface of the wall. In some designs, the rotating substance may polymerize with a stationary substance (e.g., a target substance) located within the confined area.

In certain embodiments, the reactant is a material that is neutrally unreactive. In other embodiments, the reactant is a neutron reactive substance. One or both reactants may also be neutral or uncharged species. The materials present in the reactor are sometimes referred to as "particles". However, these substances are only particles on a molecular or atomic scale.

The disclosed small-scale (e.g., bench-top) neutron-free reactors require relatively little or no biological shielding for neutron radiation. Fusion reactions in the reactor described herein may be characterized as "mild fusion", e.g., fusion occurs in a temperature range of about 1000K to 3000K and is therefore easier to handle than "thermal fusion reactors" (e.g., those in tokamak reactors). Because fusion is substantially neutron-free and a "mild" material, the costs associated with a "mild fusion" reactor can be significantly reduced. For example, in some cases, the prototype reactor has been built for less than 5 thousand dollars. The disclosed small-scale reactor may also have a small weight and footprint, as radiation shielding and industrial-grade hardware typically used in thermal plasma reactors may not be required.

The rotational motion of a substance in a reactor can be imparted by a variety of mechanisms. One mechanism imparts rotation by applying interacting electric and magnetic fields. The interaction is manifested as a lorentz force acting on charged particles in the reactor. Examples of reactor designs that can generate lorentz forces to act on charged particles are described in fig. 1a-c and fig. 6. Fig. 1a-c depict a lorentz driven reactor, wherein the reactor has an inner electrode 120, wherein the shield (confinement wall) is an outer electrode 110. In the presence of an applied magnetic field 146, an electric field 144 having a vertical component between the electrodes causes lorentz forces on charged particles or charged species moving between the electrodes. This force drives them into rotation azimuthally, as shown in FIG. 1 c. In another type of reactor design, the charged species are imparted with a rotational motion by applying an electric potential or a sequential change in electric potential to a plurality of electrodes arranged azimuthally around the wall of the reactor. An example of a suitable reactor design is shown in fig. 7.

In many embodiments, the reactor is operated in such a way that the rotating charged species interact with neutral species and impart angular momentum to those neutral species, thereby establishing the neutral species and the rotational motion of the charged species within the reactor. In many schemes, most of the rotating species are neutrals, and the charged species are ionized particles, such as protons (p)⁺). As described herein, this method may be referred to as ion-neutral species coupling. Fig. 2a schematically illustrates an ion-neutral coupling process, wherein a few charged particles 204 impart motion to surrounding neutral particles 206.

In various embodiments, the reactor is designed to emit electrons in an internal local region of the reactor where fusion events are expected to occur. Referring again to fig. 2a, these electrons may form an electron rich region 232 near the confining wall 210. The presence of excess electrons lowers the coulomb barrier, thereby increasing the likelihood of fusion. As explained elsewhere herein, emitting electrons in this manner can produce an electron rich region that reduces the inherent coulomb repulsion between two positively charged nuclei that are fusion candidates. In certain embodiments, electron emission occurs at or adjacent to a wall within the reactor that constrains the rotating species. In one example, electron emission is provided by a passive structure, such as a boron-containing sheet or strip embedded in or attached to a confinement wall of the reactor. This passive structure emits electrons when the local temperature increases during the operation of the reactor. In other embodiments, electron emission is implemented using an active structure (activestructure) that is controlled independently of the heating that occurs during normal reactor operation. Examples of active structures for electron emission are depicted in fig. 21a and 21b and include individually controlled resistive elements for heating a single electron emitter.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to structures or systems for capturing and converting energy produced by fusion reactions within a reactor.

Interaction of neutrals with walls

Neutral species that interact with the walls of the reactor provide different types of interactions that have been employed in traditional fusion studies. The repeated interaction occurs over a relatively large volume, which may be an annular space proximate the inner wall or surface of the constraining wall. Because the rotating neutrals often interact resiliently with the wall at shallow angles, such as at oblique or tangential angles, they can immediately exit the wall and re-enter the interior space with most of their energy entering. Fig. 2b illustrates an exemplary trajectory path that neutral 206 may have as it moves along the surface of constraining wall 210. When a rotating neutrals enters or hits a wall, it typically encounters potential fusion partners that may or may not react with it. When not reacted, it re-enters the interior space where it continues its rotational movement. In this way, it repeatedly interacts with the surface of the wall and in each such elastic impact, there is little to no energy loss.

Some particle-wall interactions that do not lead to fusion are schematically illustrated in fig. 3 a-d. Although these figures are described with respect to boron¹¹And/or titanium, but these interactions may also occur when other reactant materials are used in the constraining walls. As illustrated in fig. 3a, in a fraction of the neutrals-wall interaction, the neutrals experience nuclei in the wall (in this case, boron)¹¹Atoms) and the rebounding neutrals retain most of their energy as they enter the interaction. Elastic collisions generally have this highest incidence among all neutrals-wall interactions. In a smaller fraction of the collisions depicted in fig. 3b, the nuclei of neutrals are close enough to the nuclei of atoms in the walls that the collisions become inelastic due to the tunneling effect that occurs when two nuclei are in close proximity. FIG. 3c depicts yet another interaction that may occur; in this case, the neutrals penetrate into the wall. This type of collision may occur somewhat frequently when the constraining surface contains a material such as titanium or palladium that can absorb hydrogen molecules.

Figure 3d depicts inelastic collisions of charged particles (e.g. protons) with the confining walls. This is in contrast to the frequent elastic collisions of neutrals such as atomic hydrogen with the confining walls (previously described in figure 3 a). As charged particles approach and exit the confinement wall, the particles may experience bremsstrahlung energy loss. This energy loss is caused by electrostatic interactions between the charged particles and the electrons in the electron rich region. Some kinetic energy is lost due to electrostatic forces and high energy electromagnetic radiation, such as x-rays, is emitted. In conventional fusion reactors that focus attempts to fuse ionized particles, bremsstrahlung radiation can cause significant energy losses. These losses are largely avoided by using weakly ionized plasmas with a high proportion of neutrals (relative to ions).

FIG. 4a depicts the stages of a neutronic fusion reaction that occurs when a hydrogen atom or proton is fused with a boron 11 atom, FIG. 4a first, at 482, a proton traveling at high velocity collides with a boron 11 atom and the two nuclei fuse to form an excited carbon nucleus, as depicted at 483, however, the excited carbon nucleus has a short lifetime and decomposes into a beryllium nucleus and α particles, α particles emit with a kinetic energy of 3.76MeV, as shown at 484, finally, at 485, the newly formed beryllium nucleus decomposes almost immediately into two α particles, each α particle having a kinetic energy of 2.46MeV, FIG. 4b-e depicts the same stages of a proton-boron 11 fusion reaction shown in FIG. 4a relative to the surface of confinement wall 412, with respect to the surface of confinement wall 412, the proton-boron 11 fusion reaction depicted as traveling toward the boron 11 surface at high velocity, the neutral nucleus is deflected into a more energetic repulsive force with the other proton nucleus, as the neutral nuclei react with a positively charged nuclei, thus, the neutral nuclei react with a more positively charged atoms, as they are deflected by a more energetic, as they are deflected into a more energetic by collision with a positively charged nuclear particle, a positively charged nuclear fusion particle, a nuclear fusion particle, a nuclear fusion particle, a nuclear fusion particle, a nuclear fusion, a nuclear fusion, a nuclear, a.

In general, the rotating neutral particles undergo many repetitive interactions with the wall and elastically bounce back for those that are non-productive to produce fusion reactions, with relatively little energy loss. As mentioned, neutrals tend to be reproduced from the wall and have sufficient energy so that they can enter into the next interaction with the wall, which can be productive for producing a fusion reaction. Each interaction with the wall may result in a fusion reaction between the neutral nuclei and the nuclei of the atoms in the wall.

When the reactants are different substances (e.g.,¹¹b and p⁺) The fusion rate per unit volume is given by:

dN/dT＝n₁n₂σν

wherein n is₁And n₂To the density of each reactant, σ is the fusion cross-section at a particular energy, and ν is the relative velocity between the two interacting species. For a system in which at least one substance rotates in a confinement region and repeatedly impacts a confinement wall containing a second substance, the density value of the substance may be 10 for the rotating substance²⁰cm^-3On the order of magnitude, for a fixed species (e.g., boron), the density value of the species may be 10²³cm^-3Order of magnitude, fusion cross-sectional value can be in the range of 10^-32cm²Of the order of magnitude, and the relative velocity of the interacting species is 10³Of the order of m/s. By comparison, the density value for each material was 10 for the tokamak reactor¹⁴cm^-3Order of magnitude, fusion cross-section value of 10^-28cm²On the order of magnitude, the relative velocity of the interacting species is 10⁶In the order of m/s ("pdf" based on "inert constant fusion", by m.ragheb at 14.1 month/day 2015). Clearly, systems employing neutral species, such as those described herein, have great advantages due to their higher density. The rate of fusion energy per unit volume of such systems exceeds the rate of tokamak and inertial confinement systems by at least about eight orders of magnitude. Thus, it is possible to provideThe system disclosed herein can achieve a defined energy generation rate in a volume of about one-billion of tokamak or an internal restraint system.

Reduction of coulomb barrier

As illustrated, a trusted existing nuclear fusion method has energized (energized) fusion reactants and supporting environments that reach extremely high temperatures, at least on the order of 150000000K (13000 eV). This serves to impart sufficient kinetic energy to the fusion reactants to overcome their natural electrostatic repulsion. In such an environment, each reactant is a nucleus with an inherent positive charge that must first be overcome to allow for some possibility of a fusion reaction.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure employ much lower temperatures in the fusion reaction; for example, in the order of 2000K (0.17 eV). These embodiments employ neutral species as one or more reactants and/or modify the reaction environment to reduce the strong coulomb repulsion between the reactant nuclei. Reducing coulombic forces can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including, for example, (i) providing an electron-rich field in the reaction region and/or (ii) calibrating the quantum mechanical spin of the reactant nuclei. The apparatus and method for reducing coulomb repulsion may take a variety of forms depending on the reactor configuration. The following description assumes that the reactor includes an annular space with an outer containment wall or shroud. Other reactor configurations may also produce a reduced coulomb repulsion environment that supports fusion, but they may do so in ways other than as described below.

The following is provided as one possible explanation of the environment near the inner surface of the confinement electrode and should not be considered as a limitation on the practice of the disclosed embodiments. In this explanation, the reactants, particularly neutrals, rotate at high speed and impinge on the inner surface of the electrodes. At the same time, electrons are emitted from the confinement wall or the vicinity of the confinement wall. The fast rotating neutrals have high angular velocity and therefore exert extreme pressure on the inner surface of the constraining wall through the associated centrifugal forces. Electrons emitted from the inner surface of the wall oppose the force.

The emitted electrons will diffuse away from the location where they are emitted, e.g. away from the wall and towards the inner space. However, the centrifugal force of the neutrals confines the electrons to an inner surface area near the outer electrode. The resulting thin region of equilibrium force adjacent the inner surface of the electrode has a strong field that reduces coulomb repulsion between the reactant nuclei.

The force balance can be expressed mathematically as a balance of (i) the gradient of the product of temperature and the density of electrons and neutrals (in a direction away from the electron-emitting wall surface), and (ii) the centrifugal force applied toward the inner surface. The centrifugal force is proportional to the product of the density of neutrals, the radial position and the square of their angular velocity.

In the expression, r is a radial direction away from the inner surface of the confinement electrode, K is a Boltzmann constant, and T_eAnd T₀Is the electron and neutral temperature in Kelvin, n_eAnd n₀Density of electrons and neutrals, n₀Density of neutral substance, m₀Is the mass of a rotating neutral species, e.g. a hydrogen atom²Is the square of the angular velocity of the rotating neutral species.

The free electrons generate a strong electric field in a thin region beside the surface from which the electrons are emitted (e.g., the inner surface of the confinement walls) (see the schematic representation of the electron-rich region 232 adjacent to the confinement walls 210 in fig. 2 a-b). The high concentration of neutrals restricts the mean free path of the electrons, preventing them from following ballistic trajectories, thus gaining enough kinetic energy to significantly ionize the neutrals. Furthermore, since neutrals have a significantly higher density than ions, there are relatively few positive ions available for recombination. For example, the ratio of ions to neutrals may be in a range of less than about 1:10, less than about 1:100, less than about 1:1000, or less than about 1: 10000. Thus, neutrals are typically placed between electrons and positive ions. This set of conditions produces a high concentration of excess electrons near the inner surface of the confinement walls, thus creating a strong electric field.

The combination of a large excess of electrons (compared to ions) in a very thin region (e.g., near the inner surface of the electrode) and the presence of a high concentration of neutrals creates a very strong electric field. In this region, the strong field reduces the coulomb repulsion of the interacting positively charged nuclei. Thus, the probability of two positively charged nuclei being in close proximity is significantly increased.

In addition, as mentioned, rotating particles striking the inner surface of the confinement wall create a repetitive opportunity for the interacting fusion reactants. The neutrals repeatedly pass through the electron-rich layer and strike the inner surface of the containment wall or shroud and re-enter the interior space of the reactor. This impact on the wall represents a radial component of the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the particles in the confined environment (e.g., the inner surface of the confinement wall). Repeated collisions, contacts, or impacts increase the likelihood of fusion reactions within a given time period in a given region. This repeated replacement requires long confinement times and addresses the concerns of using the lawson standard for characterizing existing methods of achieving fusion reactions. In short, the overall probability of fusion reactions increases significantly.

As an example, the electron rich region may be characterized by any combination of the following parameter values:

density of free electrons: about 10²³/cm³

Density of neutrals: about 10^20/cm³

Density of positive ions: about 10¹⁵-10¹⁶/cm³(about 10 of neutral)^-5To 0.01%)

Density difference of electrons and positive ions: about 10⁶To 10^8/cm³

Thickness (radial) of free electron-rich region (region where most of the electron density gradient exists)): about 1 micron

Electric field strength in the electron-rich region: about 10⁶To 10⁸V/m

Electron temperature: about 1800-2000K (about 0.15-0.17eV)

Centripetal acceleration: about 10⁹g's (where g is the acceleration of gravity ═ 9.8 ms)^-2)

The free electrons in such a system can be viewed as collectively catalyzing the fusion reaction of two nuclei. By analogy, one or more muons in combination with protons and deuterons are sometimes described as catalyzing the fusion of hydrogen and deuterium atoms. Just as muons catalyze fusion by bringing two fusion nuclei closer to each other, the free electrons in the vicinity of the fusion nuclei catalyze the fusion reactions described herein. Effectively, the electron reduction prevents the energy barrier of the two reactants from being close enough to react. This is very similar to the effect of any catalyst in a chemical or physical environment. Both muons and electrons increase the reaction rate, but do not actually participate in the reaction; they simply reduce the energy barrier required to bring the reactants close enough to carry out the reaction.

However, muons and electron catalysis have little else. Muon catalyzed fusion is not commercially viable for a variety of reasons. Notably, muons have a much larger mass than electrons, and thus are much more expensive to produce. Furthermore, only relatively few muons are produced at any instant in time, which means that the equilibrium requirements for fusion cannot be reached. For the proton-boron 11 reaction, equilibrium fusion in production demand may require about 10 per cubic centimeter per second¹⁷A successful fusion interaction. In large cells, only a few atomic nuclear energies will be able to benefit from muon catalyzed fusion, not close to the level needed to reach fusion.

In contrast, electrons can be easily generated, and the density is high. For example, according to the techniques disclosed herein, may be about 10 per cubic centimeter²⁰Or greater density, generates electrons. With such a high density, the electrons work together to create a high electric field that reduces the coulomb barrier to interaction between the approaching nuclei over a relatively large volume. Such relatively large volumes allow for a desired balance of interaction production requirements, i.e., at least about 10 per cubic centimeter per second¹⁷A successful fusion interaction.

Term(s) for

A "reactor" is a device in which one or more reactants react to produce one or more products, usually with a concomitant release of energy. The one or more reactants are provided in the reactor by continuous delivery, intermittent delivery, and/or one-time delivery. They may be provided in the form of a gas, liquid or solid. In some cases, the reactants are provided as components of the reaction; for example, it may be included in the structure of a reactor such as a wall. Boron 11, lithium 6, carbon 12, etc. may be provided in the walls of the reactor. In some cases, the reactants are provided from an external source (e.g., from a gas supply tank). In certain embodiments, the reactor is configured to promote a nuclear fusion reaction of Q > 1. The reactor may have means for removing products and/or energy produced during the reaction. The product removal component may be a port, a passage, an aspirator, or the like. The energy removing member may be a heat exchanger or the like for removing thermal energy, an inductor or the like for directly removing electric energy, or the like. Reactor components may allow product and energy to be removed continuously or intermittently. In certain embodiments, the reactor has one or more containment walls containing the reactants and, in some cases, provides a source of the reactants, an electric field, and the like. As illustrated throughout this disclosure, reactors suitable for providing sustained fusion reactions can have many different designs.

A "rotor" is a reactor or reactor component in which one or more reactants or products (particles) rotate in space. The space may be defined at least in part by a constraining wall as described herein. In some cases, rotation is induced by magnetic forces, electrical forces, and/or a combination of both, as in the case of lorentz forces. In certain embodiments, the rotation is induced by applying electric and/or magnetic forces to the charged particles in such a way that they rotate in the confinement region; the rotating charged particles collide with neutrals causing the neutrals to rotate as well in the confinement region, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as ion-molecule coupling. Since neutrals are not affected by electric and/or magnetic forces, they will not rotate in the confinement region without interacting with charged particles. The containment wall or other outer structure of the rotor may have many closed shapes as described herein. In some embodiments, the outer structure is substantially or substantially circular or cylindrical in shape. In this case, the shape need not be geometrically precise, but may exhibit some variation, such as eccentricity about the axis of rotation, non-continuous curvature (e.g., apex), and the like.

In some cases, the constrained region of the rotor has internal bars or other structures concentrically arranged about the constrained wall. In this case, the rotor has an "annular space" in which the particles rotate. As used herein, "annular space" refers to a confined area in which the area is substantially annular. It should be understood that some rotors do not have internal bars or other structures to define the annular space. In this case, the restricted area of the rotor is only a hollow structure. While the annular space may have a generally cylindrical shape, such a shape may exhibit certain variations, such as eccentricity about the axis of rotation, discontinuous curvature (e.g., apex), and the like.

Due to the resulting electromagnetic field, a "lorentz force" is provided by a combination of electrical and magnetic forces on the electrical charge. The magnitude and direction of the force is given by the cross product of the electric and magnetic fields; the force is therefore sometimes referred to as J × B. When the electric and magnetic fields have orthogonal directions, the force applied to the charged particles has a direction of rotation that can be represented by the right-hand rule mnemonic.

In fusion reactions, the reactants and products involved (possibly including protons, α particles, and boron: (ii)¹¹B) Not necessarily present in a hundred percent purity. To the extent any such reactants, products or other components of a reaction are present herein, such components are understood to be substantially present. In other words, a component need not be present at a level of 100%, but may be present at a lower level, such as about 95% or about 99% by mass.

By convention, a non-neutron reaction is understood a fusion reaction in which the neutrons carry no more than 1% of the total released energy. As used herein, a non-neutron reaction or a substantially non-neutron reaction is a reaction that meets this criteria.

Examples of non-neutron reactions include:

p+B¹¹→3He⁴+8.68MeV

D+He³→He⁴+p+18.35MeV

p+Li⁶→He⁴+He³+4.02MeV

p+Li⁷→2He⁴+17.35MeV

p+p→D+e⁺+v+1.44MeV

D+p→He³+γ+5.49MeV

He³+He³→He⁴+2p+12.86MeV

p+C¹²→N¹³+γ+1.94MeV

N¹³→C¹³+e⁺+v+γ+2.22MeV

p+C¹³→N¹⁴+γ+7.55MeV

p+N¹⁴→O¹⁵+γ+7.29MeV

O¹⁵→N¹⁵+e⁺+v+γ+2.76MeV

p+N¹⁵→C¹²+He⁴+4.97MeV

C¹²+C¹²→Na²³+p+2.24MeV

C¹²+C¹²→Na²⁰+He⁴+4.62MeV

C¹²+C¹²→Mg²⁴+γ+13.93MeV

examples of neutron reactions include:

D+T→He⁴+n+17.59MeV

D+D→He³+n+3.27MeV

T+T→He⁴+2n+11.33MeV

coulomb repulsion is the electrostatic force experienced by two or more particles of the same charge. For two interacting particles, it is proportional to the inverse of the square of the separation distance (coulomb's law). Thus, when the charged particles are close to each other, the repulsion becomes significantly stronger. In the electric field generated by a plurality of charged particles, the repulsive force experienced by the charged particles is given by the superposition of the contributions of all charged particles in the vicinity.

Reducing the coulomb barrier means that the commonly known and understood coulomb repulsion force that is commonly calculated or experienced between two separate particles "reduces" or diminishes to a certain calculable degree when the particles approach a sufficient number of electrons or other charged particles to reduce the repulsion force that the separate particles would otherwise experience. For example, the presence of excess electrons at the density of XX reduces the coulomb repulsion between two positively charged YY particles in an electron domain by ZZ%.

Lorentz rotor embodiment

First embodiment

Fig. 1a-c depict a first embodiment of a reactor in which charged particles, charged species or ions are rotated by lorentz forces. FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view of a reactor, while FIG. 1b provides an isometric cut-away view of the same reactor along section A-A of FIG. 1 a. Unless otherwise stated, the directionality using the r, Θ, and z coordinates belongs to a cylindrical coordinate system, as shown in FIG. 1 b. In the depicted embodiment, the lorentz driven rotor has an outer wall 110 which also serves as an outer electrode, a concentric inner electrode 120 sometimes referred to as a discharge rod, which inner electrode 120 is separated from the outer electrode by an annular space 140. An electric field is established across the annular space by applying an electric potential between the inner electrode 120 and the shield 140. When a sufficient electrical potential is applied between the electrodes, a portion of the gas in the annular space is ionized, generating a radial plasma current across the annular space. In various embodiments, the inner electrode is held at a high positive potential while the shield is grounded such that the electric field and current flow are substantially in the positive r direction.

FIG. 1c depicts how the Lorentz force azimuthally drives charged particles within the constraining wall 110. In fig. 1c the discharge rods have been removed and the axis has been inverted in the z-direction to improve clarity. Although not shown, a magnet (such as a permanent magnet or a superconducting magnet) is used to generate an applied magnetic field within the annular space that is substantially parallel to the z-axis (substantially axial). The magnetic field is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the current flow, causing the moving charged particles, charged species and ions to experience a lorentz force in the azimuthal (or Θ) direction. For example, consider the case where the discharge rods have a positive potential relative to the outer electrodes (e.g., the discharge rods have an applied positive potential while the outer electrodes are grounded), thereby generating an electric field in the r-direction (144). In this configuration, positively charged ions will move in the r direction through the annular space 140 towards the outer electrode. If the magnetic field is simultaneously directed in the z direction (146), the ions will experience a lorentz force in the- Θ direction or clockwise direction, as seen from the perspective shown in fig. 1b and 1 c. In some cases, the electric and magnetic fields may be at angles other than the vertical, but not parallel, such that the vertical component is present to a lesser or greater extent with sufficient strength to produce a sufficiently strong azimuthal lorentz force. Such azimuthal forces act on the charged particles, charged species and ions, which in turn couple with neutrals, so that neutrals in the annular space between the central discharge rod and the outer electrode also move at high rotational speeds. The absence of any moving mechanical parts means that there is little restriction on the speed at which rotation can occur, thus providing a rate of rotation of neutrals and charged particles in excess of, for example, 100000 RPS.

Reverse electrical polarity embodiments

Fig. 5a-d depict another embodiment in which the reactor may utilize lorentz forces to drive rotation of ions and neutrals through ion-neutral coupling. A reactor arranged for opposite electrical polarity differs from the reactor described in fig. 1a-c in that the electric field and the current (conventionally in the direction of positive charge movement) are substantially in the negative r direction. Fig. 5a is a cross-sectional view of a reactor, while fig. 5b provides an isometric cut-away view of the same reactor along section a-a of fig. 5 a. The opposite polarity rotor has an outer electrode 510 and a concentric inner electrode 520, the inner electrode 520 being separated from the outer electrode by an annular space 540, the annular space 540 sometimes referred to herein as a confinement region. By applying an electrical potential to the inner and/or outer electrode, a radial electric field directed towards the inner electrode may be formed in the annular space. When a sufficient electrical potential is applied between the electrodes, a portion of the gas in the annular space is ionized and a radial plasma current is generated across the annular space.

Fig. 5c describes how the lorentz force is used to drive the charged particles in azimuth within the reactor. In fig. 5c, the inner electrode has been removed from view and the depicted axis has been inverted in the z-direction to improve clarity. Although not shown, a magnet (such as a permanent magnet or a superconducting magnet) is used to generate an applied magnetic field within the annular space that is substantially parallel to the z-axis (i.e., substantially in the axial direction). The magnetic field is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the current flow, causing the moving charged particles, charged species and ions to experience a lorentz force in the azimuthal (or Θ) direction. For example, consider the case where the inner electrode has a negative potential applied while the outer electrode is grounded (or held at a positive potential), an electric field is generated in the negative r direction (544). In this configuration, positively charged ions will move in the negative r direction through the annular space 540 toward the inner electrode. If the magnetic field is simultaneously directed in the z direction (546), the ions will experience a lorentz force in either the + Θ direction or the counterclockwise direction, as viewed from the perspective shown in fig. 5b and 5 c. In some cases, the electric and magnetic fields may be at angles other than perpendicular but not parallel, such that the perpendicular component is present to a lesser or greater extent with sufficient strength to produce a sufficiently strong azimuthal lorentz force. This azimuthal force acts on the charged particles, charged species and ions, which in turn couple with neutrals, so that neutrals in the annular space also move at high rotational speeds. The absence of any moving mechanical parts means that there is little restriction on the speed at which rotation can occur, thus providing a rate of rotation of neutrals and charged particles in excess of, for example, 100000 RPS.

Reverse field implementation

Fig. 6a-d depict various views of another reactor embodiment that utilizes lorentz forces to drive rotation of ions and neutrals through ion-neutral coupling. The reactor of this embodiment operates using a reverse field configuration. A reactor having this configuration differs from the reactor described in fig. 1a-c and 5a-d in that the direction of the electric and magnetic fields within the confinement region is reversed. In this configuration, the magnetic field is not substantially parallel to the z-axis, but is directed radially in the positive or negative r-direction. Similarly, the electric field is not directed radially, but substantially parallel to the z-axis. Fig. 6a is an isometric view of the reactor, fig. 6b is a view of the reactor in the z-direction, fig. 6c is an isometric cross-sectional view of the reactor (corresponding to line AA in fig. 6 b), and fig. 6d provides a side view of the reactor. The depicted embodiment includes an inner ring magnet 626 and a concentric outer ring magnet 616 that also serves as a confinement wall. The ring magnets have poles oriented in the same direction so that the corresponding surfaces of the inner and outer ring magnets are the same. In this case, the outer surface is north 658 and the inner surface is south 659. In some embodiments, there may be one or more additional layers of material on the inner surface of the magnet 658, such that the constraining surface material is different from the magnetic material. The region between the concentric magnets forms an annular space 640, which annular space 640 is constrained in the z-direction by an electrode on one end of the constrained region 660a and an electrode on the other end of the constrained region 660 b. Typically, all electrodes on either side of the confinement region (corresponding to either electrode 660a or 660b) are given similar potentials. Unlike the described hybrid reactor, the electrode 660a (or the electrode 660b) may be a single continuous electrode, e.g., formed in a ring or disk shape. If the electrode 660a is grounded and the electrode on the other side of the annular space 660b is given a positive potential, an electric field is applied through the confinement region in the positive z-direction. If the magnetic field is directed in the r-direction (as depicted), the orthogonal electric and magnetic fields cause the ions to rotate azimuthally in the Θ -direction (see, e.g., FIG. 6 c). Alternatively, if the electric field is directed in the negative z-direction by applying a positive potential to electrode 660a while electrode 660b is grounded, the ions will rotate in the- Θ direction.

Wave particle embodiment

In fig. 7a and 7b, a second embodiment of a controlled fusion device is shown, in which ions are rotated due to oscillations of the electrostatic field. In this embodiment, the electric field generated by the plurality of discrete wall electrodes 714 on or forming the outer ring, optionally in combination with the inner electrode 724 on or forming the inner ring, generates localized azimuthally-varying (azimuthally-accelerating) electric field azimuthally accelerated ions within the annular space 740. In some cases, the wall electrodes collectively form a constraining wall, and in some cases, the wall electrodes may be disposed on or within a portion of the constraining wall or scaffold. The electric fields advance azimuthally in a controlled sequence such that the electrostatic forces applied to the ions proceed sequentially in a substantially azimuthal direction (in the Θ or- Θ directions). In this way, the charged matter is accelerated, similar to a magnetic levitation train propelled along a train track by an oscillating magnetic field. An oscillating electrical potential may be applied to the electrodes. The phase of the oscillations or other parameters are varied from one electrode to an adjacent electrode to induce or sustain rotational motion of the ions.

Ions present in the annular space experience electrostatic forces due to the electric field, and only a relatively small number or percentage of ions are required to drive a large number or percentage of neutrals by the principle of ion-neutrals coupling. The ions used to drive neutrals into rotation may be generated by any suitable mechanism, such as inductive or capacitive coupling. In some embodiments, ions are generated when an RF charge sequence is applied to the wall and/or inner electrode. In some embodiments, the wall and/or inner electrode may first undergo an initial charge sequence to ionize some of the neutral gas in the annular space, and then convert to a different charge sequence that drives the rotation of the ions. For example, the charge distribution for the ionized gas may simply include grounding the confined wall electrode 714 while applying a high potential to the inner electrode 724. In some embodiments, a gas that has been partially ionized may be introduced into the annular space 740.

Although fig. 7a and 7b depict two binary charge distributions that may be used to drive ion rotation in the annular space, many alternative charge sequences are possible. In some charge sequences, the electrodes may be held at ground potential for a certain duration, for example, or may have an asymmetric charge sequence (e.g., a positive potential of twice the duration of a negative potential).

In some embodiments, the system does not require a magnetic field, such as an axial static magnetic field. Fig. 7a depicts an example of this embodiment taken at a first point in time when the electrode is provided with a first potential distribution such that ions (e.g., ion cloud or ion cluster) 704 experience a force in the- Θ direction. Fig. 7b depicts an embodiment of fig. 7a at a later time when the electrodes are provided with different potential distributions such that the ions 704 continue to experience azimuthal forces in the- Θ direction.

Hybrid embodiments

In certain embodiments, the reactor includes features for generating both lorentz forces and oscillating electrostatic fields to drive rotation of ions and neutrals through ion-neutral mass coupling. At any stage of operation, the reactor may use one or both of these mechanisms. Fig. 6a-f depict an exemplary reactor suitable for such operation. Fig. 6a is an isometric view of a reactor, fig. 6B is a view of the reactor in the Z-direction, fig. 6c is an isometric cross-sectional view of the reactor (corresponding to line a-a in fig. 6B), fig. 6d provides a side view of the reactor, and fig. 6e and 6f are cross-sectional views at different points in time (corresponding to line B-B in fig. 6 d). The depicted embodiment includes an inner ring magnet 626 and a concentric outer ring magnet 616 that also serves as a confinement wall. The ring magnets have poles oriented in the same direction so that the corresponding surfaces of the inner and outer ring magnets are the same. In this case, the outer surface is north 658 and the inner surface is south 659. In some embodiments, there may be one or more additional layers of material on the inner surface of the magnet 658, such that the constraining surface material is different from the magnetic material. The region between the concentric magnets forms an annular space 640, the annular space 640 being constrained in the z-direction by one or more pairs of electrodes 660a and 660 b. When the electrode pairs 660a and 660b are given different potentials, an electric field substantially parallel to the z-direction is generated in the annular space, for example by applying a positive potential to the electrode 660a while grounding the electrode 660 b. When ions are generated in the annular space, orthogonal electric and magnetic fields cause them to rotate azimuthally in the- Θ direction (see, e.g., fig. 6 c). If a positive potential is applied to the electrode 660b while the electrode 660a is grounded, the ions will rotate in the Θ direction.

In some embodiments, as depicted in fig. 6a-e, the plurality of electrodes 660a and 660b are radially distributed along the annular space. In this case, the reactor may be driven in a similar manner to the reactor of fig. 7a and 7 b. During operation, each electrode pair is driven with a substantially similar potential that is different from the potentials of adjacent electrode pairs such that a local electric field is generated in the Θ direction. As depicted in fig. 6d and 6e, the voltages applied to the electrode pairs can be modulated in a controlled sequence such that the electrostatic forces applied to the ions exhibit a substantially continuous azimuthal (in the Θ or- Θ direction) variation component. In some configurations, the reactor may be configured to operate in a manner that initially drives ions and neutrals via lorentz forces, followed by driving the ions and neutrals using the alternating electrostatic field 6 just described.

Reactor type (size)

In one aspect, the reactors may be classified into groups by the output power they provide. In this manner, for purposes of this discussion, the reactors of the present disclosure are classified as small, medium, and large reactors. Small reactors are typically capable of producing about 1-10kW of power. In some embodiments, these reactors are used for personal applications, such as powering automobiles or providing power to homes. The next classification is a mesoscale reactor, which typically provides about 10kW-50MW of power. Medium size reactors are used in larger applications such as server farms, and large vehicles such as trains and submarines. Large reactors are reactors designed to output about 50MW-10GW of power and may be used for large operations, such as powering parts of the power grid and/or industrial power plants. While these three general classifications provide the actual categories to which the present disclosure may relate, the reactors disclosed herein are not limited to any of these categories.

The surface area (the product of the perimeter and the axial direction) of the shroud or constraining wall generally limits the maximum power that the reactor can produce. Shields with large surface areas support fusion reactions over large areas of the inner surface (e.g., 122 in FIG. 1 a). For small reactors, the radius of the inner surface of the shroud is typically from about 1 cm to about 2 meters, and the surface area of the inner surface is typically between about 5 cubic centimeters to 20 cubic centimeters. For a midrange reactor, the radius of the inner surface of the shroud is typically from about 2 meters to about 10 meters, and the surface area of the inner surface is typically between about 25 cubic meters and 150 cubic meters. For large reactors, the radius of the inner surface of the shroud is typically from about 10 meters to about 50 meters, and the surface area of the inner surface is typically between about 125 cubic meters to 628 cubic meters. In some cases, the radius of the interior surface may be on the order of several kilometers, with a footprint similar to that of a Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operated by the CERN laboratory in switzerland. Each of the values above assumes that the individual reactors are independent or are part of a series of reactors (as described below).

First embodiment

1a-c depict the structure of a reactor with concentric electrodes that utilizes a Lorentz rotor to drive rotation of charged particles and fusion reactants. This embodiment has an inner electrode 120, an outer electrode 110 and an annular space 140 between the two electrodes. During operation, an applied potential between these electrodes generates an electric field 144 substantially in the r direction. Although not shown, this embodiment also includes a permanent magnet or electromagnet (e.g., a superconducting magnet) that generates a magnetic field 146 in the z-direction between the inner and outer electrodes. As depicted in fig. 1c, charged particles moving between the electrodes experience an azimuthal or lorentz force due to the radial electric field and the axial magnetic field.

As shown, the reactor depicted in fig. 1a has a gap 142 radially separating the outer surface of the inner electrode 112 and the inner surface of the outer electrode 122. Although the surface areas of the opposing surfaces of the inner and outer electrodes may determine the scale of the reactor, the radial gap may be maintained relatively constant in a wide range of applications. In some cases, the upper limit of the gap may be limited by the power available to ionize the gas in the annular space and generate the plasma current, while the lower limit of the gap may be limited by manufacturing tolerances. When the gap is very small, for example less than 0.1 mm, any misalignment between the electrodes can cause the electrodes to contact creating a short circuit. Of course, smaller gaps may be possible as manufacturing tolerances allow for greater accuracy. In some embodiments, the gap may be between about 1 millimeter and about 50 centimeters, and in some embodiments, the gap may be between about 5 centimeters and about 20 centimeters. In some cases, the gap may vary in the r-direction and/or the z-direction of the reactor. For example, the radius of the inner electrode may vary as a function of position along the z-axis, while the radius of the inner surface of the outer electrode is constant.

The z-direction length of the containment wall created by the outer electrode may be determined by the radial dimensions of the reactor and the power generation requirements. In some embodiments, the z-direction length of the outer electrode may be limited by the type and configuration of the magnet used to generate the magnetic field. For example, if the permanent magnets are placed on either end of the annular space in the z-direction (as depicted in fig. 11), the z-direction of the outer electrode may be limited to about 5 or about 10 centimeters. However, if a magnetic field is generated using a plurality of permanent ring magnets (as shown in fig. 16 and 17) or electromagnets, or superconducting magnets (as shown in fig. 10), the z-direction length of the outer electrodes may be much longer. For example, the outer electrode may be between about 1 meter and about 10 meters. Typically, the length of the outer electrode 110 is similar to the length of the inner electrode 120, but this is not always the case. In some embodiments, the inner electrode may extend beyond the outer electrode in one direction or both directions. In some embodiments, the length of the outer electrode may exceed the length of the inner electrode such that the outer electrode extends beyond the inner electrode in one or both directions.

Although fig. 1 a-1 b depict a configuration in which a solid circular inner electrode is used in conjunction with a circular outer electrode, a number of electrode shape arrangements may be used in this configuration. Several non-limiting examples of alternative embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and discussed with reference to fig. 8a-b and 9 a-c. While several illustrative examples are provided, the reader can readily appreciate how many additional electrode shapes are possible.

As depicted in fig. 8a, in some embodiments, the inner electrode 820 may be a ring-shaped structure that is not solid throughout. Providing a cavity or open space within the inner electrode may be used for heat dissipation, using an internal magnet as shown in fig. 17a-c, or using other components within the reactor. In some cases, the radii of the inner and outer electrodes may vary along the z-direction of the reactor. For example, as shown in FIG. 8a, the inner electrode 820 may have a larger circumference at some locations along the z-direction, thereby reducing the gap 842 at those locations. Instead, a uniform inner electrode may be used with an outer electrode whose inner radius varies or even fluctuates in the z-direction. In some cases, such as the embodiment depicted in fig. 8b, the radius of the inner electrode 820 and the radius of the inner surface of the outer electrode 810 both vary in the z-direction such that the gap 842 is maintained along the z-direction of the reactor.

Fig. 9a-c depict cross-sections of a reactor having a non-circular cross-section. As described, in some embodiments, the inner electrode 920 and the outer electrode 910 may have radii that vary in azimuth (i.e., in the Θ direction). In some cases, the surfaces of the inner and outer electrodes (912 and 922) may have elliptical cross-sections as shown in fig. 9 a. In some cases, the major and minor axes of the elliptical cross-section electrodes differ by only a small percentage, e.g., less than 1%. In some embodiments, surfaces 912 and/or 922 may form a polygonal cross-section, for example the reactor shown in fig. 9b has a cross-section that forms a heptagon. In some embodiments, surfaces 912 and 922 may have 4 or more sides; in some embodiments more than 8 edges, in some embodiments more than 16 edges. In some cases, it may be advantageous to have an angle on surface 912; for example, the collision rate of the rotating particles with the target material at the corner locations may increase, resulting in an increase in the fusion ratio. In some embodiments, such as in the reactor configuration depicted in fig. 9c, the radius of the inner or outer electrode defined by surfaces 912 and 922 may vary in the Θ direction such that a cross-section of either surface has a patterned edge; for example, sinusoidal, saw-tooth or square wave shaped edges. Although the inner and outer electrodes in the described embodiments are coaxial, in some embodiments the axes of the inner and outer electrodes are offset, e.g., the annular space is eccentric, such that the inner and outer electrodes have substantially parallel but non-collinear z-direction axes.

The materials used for the inner and outer electrodes may depend on the reactor dimensions, the fusion reactants selected, and other parameters that control the operation of the fusion reactor. In general, there are many tradeoffs in cost, thermal and electrical properties that determine which material to select for a reactor. Because of the extremely high melting point of refractory metals (e.g., tungsten and tantalum) and the relatively high electrical conductivity at high temperatures, small reactors may select refractory metals; however, the use of these materials in large reactors can significantly increase the cost of the reactor.

In certain embodiments, the electrode material has a melting point high enough to withstand the thermal energy released during reactor operation. For the outer electrode, forming a confining wall on which fusion reactions can occur, the thermal energy release is usually large. In order to withstand regular use, the melting point of the material of the outer electrode should exceed the temperature reached by the electrode during reactor operation. In some cases, the melting point of the material selected for the electrodes is greater than about 800 deg.C, in some cases the melting point of the electrodes is greater than about 1500 deg.C, and in other cases the melting point is greater than about 2000 deg.C.

In many embodiments, it is beneficial for the electrode material to have a high thermal conductivity. A reactor may be adapted for continuous operation if heat is extracted from the electrodes (e.g., using a heat exchanger) at an equivalent rate that heat can be introduced to the electrodes under steady state conditions. When the electrode material has high thermal conductivity, the rate at which heat is extracted can be improved and concerns over overheating reduced. In some cases, the thermal conductivity is greater than about

In some cases, the thermal conductivity is greater than about

In some cases, the thermal conductivity is greater than about

In some cases, for example when the reactor is set to pulsed operation, it may be beneficial for the electrode material to have a high heat capacity. By having a high thermal capacity, the electrodes heat up at a slower rate during reactor operation. When used in pulsed operation, the generated thermal energy may continue to dissipate through the electrodes between pulses, preventing the electrodes from reaching their melting point. In some cases, the specific heat of the electrode should be greater than about 0.25J/g/deg.C, in some cases greater than about 0.37J/g/deg.C, and in other cases greater than about 0.45J/g/deg.C.

In certain embodiments, the electrode material has a relatively small coefficient of thermal expansion. In some cases, by having a low coefficient of thermal expansion, the reactor may have improved performance over a greater temperature range. For example, if the reactor has a gap of about 1 millimeter at room temperature, the gap may be proportionally much smaller during steady state operation due to expansion of the inner and/or outer electrodes. If the thermal expansion coefficient is too high, the outer electrode and the inner electrode may contact to cause a short circuit. Alternatively, if the reactor is designed to have a certain clearance at operating temperature, the clearance may be greater than desired when the reactor is first opened. In some casesIn this case, the linear thermal expansion coefficient of the electrode material is less than about 4.3X 10^-6℃^-1In some cases, the electrode material has a linear thermal expansion coefficient of less than about 6.5 x 10 deg.C^-1In other cases, the electrode material has a linear thermal expansion coefficient of less than about 17.3 x 10^-6℃^-1。

To facilitate reactor operation, the electrodes may be designed to have mechanical properties that resist degradation, such as during thermal cycling. Under certain conditions, some materials (e.g., stainless steel) become brittle and eventually experience fatigue due to thermal cycling. Internal stresses can develop if the reactor is operated in pulsed operation and the electrodes are rapidly heated and cooled. In some cases, the effects of thermal load cycling may be reduced by using an electrode with a single matrix material, or by using two or more materials with similar coefficients of expansion. Some materials may undergo deformation due to creep at high temperatures. Thus, an electrode material may be selected that retains its strength at elevated temperatures.

The electrode material may be chemically inert and not significantly affected by oxidation, corrosion or other chemical degradation during the life of the reactor. Another consideration of electrode materials is whether they are ferromagnetic. In some cases, if ferromagnetic materials are used, an internal local magnetic field is generated that interferes with the establishment or maintenance of the magnetic field expected within the annular space.

In a lorentz driven reactor with concentric electrodes, the inner and outer electrodes may be made of a sufficiently conductive material such that during operation the electrical potential is applied uniformly over the surface of the electrodes. In certain embodiments, the resistivity of the inner or outer electrode material is less than about 7 x 10 at room temperature^-7Ω m, in some cases less than about 1.68 × 10^-8Omega m. In addition to being conductive at room temperature, the inner and outer electrodes may be conductive at higher operating temperatures when the reactor is not operating. During operation, the inner or outer electrode may reach a temperature of about 600 ℃ to about 2000 ℃. During operation, the resistivity of the outer electrode material should be no greater than about 1.7E-8 Ω m, and in some cases, no greater than about 1E-6 Ω m.

Where the reactant or byproduct includes hydrogen or helium, the resistance of the material to hydrogen embrittlement may be considered. Hydrogen embrittlement is the process by which a metal (e.g., stainless steel) becomes brittle, in some cases, due to fracture by the introduction and subsequent diffusion of hydrogen atoms or molecules into the metal. The diffusion of hydrogen into the electrode material may increase during reactor operation due to the increased solubility of hydrogen at higher temperatures. The diffusion rate can be further increased when assisted by a concentration gradient, where the metal is significantly more hydrogen outside than inside, for example caused by centrifugal densification of hydrogen atoms impinging on the confinement walls. The individual hydrogen atoms within the metal gradually recombine to form hydrogen molecules, creating internal pressure within the metal. Additionally or alternatively, the entrained hydrogen molecules themselves generate internal pressure. The pressure may increase to a level where the metal has reduced ductility, toughness, and tensile strength, to the point that cracks form and the electrode fails. In some cases, where the metal contains carbon (e.g., steel carbide), the electrode may be susceptible to a process known as hydrogen etching, in which hydrogen atoms diffuse into the steel and recombine with the carbon to form methane gas. When methane gas collects in the metal, it creates internal pressure, which can lead to mechanical failure of the equipment. Although methods of reducing the effects of hydrogen embrittlement are described elsewhere herein, the susceptibility of materials to embrittlement is generally considered when designing electrodes. In some cases, the electrodes may include platinum, platinum alloys, and ceramics such as boron nitride, each of which is resistant to hydrogen embrittlement. In some cases, the metallurgical structure may be modified such that the effect of hydrogen in the metal lattice is less detrimental. For example, in some cases, the metal or metal alloy may undergo heat treatment to achieve a desired metallurgical structure.

In various embodiments, the inner and outer electrodes are composed primarily of metals and metal alloys. In some embodiments, the inner electrode and/or the outer electrode are at least partially made of a refractory metal having a high melting point. Refractory metals are known to be chemically inert, suitable for fabrication using powder metallurgy, and stable to creep at very high temperatures. Examples of suitable refractory metals include niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, zirconium, hafnium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium, and iridium. In one example, at least the outer electrode comprises tantalum.

In some embodiments, one or both electrodes are fabricated using stainless steel. Benefits of stainless steel include its machinability and corrosion resistance. In some cases, the electrodes are at least partially made of a non-carbon based stainless steel, such as inconel (Incoloy), which may be more resistant to hydrogen embrittlement than a carbonized stainless steel. In some cases, the electrodes may be made at least in part of a nickel alloy that maintains its strength at very high temperatures, such as Inconel (Inconel), Monel (Monel), hastelloy (hastelloy), and nichrome (Nimonic). In some cases, the electrodes are made at least in part of copper or a copper alloy. In some cases, the electrode arrangement has one or more channels for internal cooling to extract heat, so that less extreme temperature resistant materials can be used.

While absorption of small atomic fusion reactants (e.g., hydrogen, deuterium, or helium) can lead to mechanical failure of the electrodes under some operating conditions, for certain materials, detrimental embrittlement effects can be reduced or eliminated. For example, under some conditions, hydrogen-absorbing materials, such as palladium-silver alloys, appear to be unaffected by hydrogen embrittlement (Jimenez, Gilberto et al, "A compatibility assessment of hydrogen agitation: Palladium and Palladium-silver (25 weight% silver) sub-objective to hydrogen adsorption/desorption cycling) (2016), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In this case, the absorption of the fusion reactants can increase the rate of the fusion reaction, e.g., a rotating gaseous reactant such as hydrogen can collide with a stationary hydrogen atom fixed on an outer electrode (or confinement wall). In some cases, the reactants are provided to the reactor by diffusing the reactants through the inner and/or outer electrodes. In some cases, the electrodes can include titanium, palladium, or palladium alloys for the purpose of delivering fusion reactants or increasing the rate of collision between fusion reactants.

In some cases, the outer or inner electrode may comprise an electron emissive material having a high electron emissivity, as discussed elsewhere herein. In some cases, the outer electrode can include a target material that includes fusion reactants. In some cases, the target material is consumed during operation due to fusion reactions. For example, in some cases lanthanum hexaboride is used as the target material, and boron-11 atoms are consumed during the proton-boron reaction.

First embodiment-electrode:

in some embodiments, the outer electrode is monolithic, being made of a single material, in other embodiments, the outer electrode has a layered or segmented structure comprising two or more materials. In some embodiments, the inner surface of the outer electrode (confinement wall) comprises a target material (material containing fusion reactants) or an electron emitting material. In some cases, the target material or electron emitter can cover the entire surface area of the confinement wall, in some cases the target material or electron emitter is located at one or more discrete locations along the confinement wall (e.g., as depicted by the electron emitter in fig. 21 a-b).

In some cases, the inner layer of the outer electrode provides one property, while the outer layer provides a different property. For example, the inner layer forming the constraining wall surface may have a high melting point, while the outer layer may have excellent thermal or electrical conductivity.

In some cases, the electrode may include a layer of material forming the confinement walls that has a higher resistance to hydrogen embrittlement than the remainder of the electrode. In some cases, the electrodes include a ceramic coating that may prevent hydrogen atoms from penetrating into the crystal lattice of the outer electrode or provide thermal insulation of the bulk electrode material. In some embodiments, the outer electrode may have an aluminum nitride layer, an aluminum oxide layer, or a boron nitride layer. Some materials with low conductivity at room temperature, such as boron nitride, may be heat treated to improve their conductivity. In some cases, the electrode may undergo a surface treatment, adding material to the electrode surface, and reducing hydrogen embrittlement. For example, when the electrode is made of a material susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement (e.g., tantalum), embrittlement can be reduced by adding a small amount of noble metal to the surface of the electrode. In some cases, the noble metal may cover only a small portion of the electrode surface. For example, the noble metal may cover less than about 50%, less than 30%, or less than 10% of the electrode surface, significantly reducing electrode hydrogen embrittlement. In some cases, small amounts of platinum, palladium, gold, iridium, rhodium, osmium, rhenium, and ruthenium may be added to the electrode surface to reduce hydrogen embrittlement. In some cases, small spots (e.g., about 0.5 foot radius) of precious metal may be riveted or welded to the electrode surface. In some cases, noble metal powder may be added to the reactor and, during normal operation, the powder is sputtered on the electrode surface. In some cases, the noble metal may be periodically added to the surface of the electrode, for example, after the reactor has been operating for a predetermined time.

In some cases, the sleeve is attached to the inner surface of the outer electrode such that the inner surface of the sleeve forms the constraining wall. In some cases, the sleeve may be used, for example, to provide a target material, to provide an electron emitter, to provide a barrier to hydrogen penetration to the outer electrode, and/or to provide thermal protection for the outer electrode. In some cases, the sleeve is consumable and/or replaceable. For example, if the sleeve contains consumed target material, the sleeve can eventually be replaced. In other cases, the sleeve acts as a sacrificial layer that protects the outer electrode from hydrogen embrittlement. In the case where the sleeve itself fails due to hydrogen embrittlement, the replacement cost is much lower than the entire external electricity.

In some embodiments, the outer electrode may have a porous or mesh structure that allows high energy charged particles to pass through the electrode while still confining the rotating neutrals within the annular space, the charged particles passing through the outer electrode may be directed by the magnetic field of the outer magnet, in some cases escaping α particles are repositioned towards hardware (discussed elsewhere herein) capable of converting kinetic energy of α particles into electrical energy.

First embodiment-magnet

Fig. 10a-d depict a first embodiment in which an axial magnetic field is applied by an electromagnet (such as a superconducting magnet). fig. 10a shows an isometric view of the superconducting magnet surrounding the outer electrodes of the reactor, as depicted, the magnet includes a housing 1056. fig. 10b provides the same perspective view as fig. 10a with the housing 1056 of the superconducting magnet removed, exposing the superconducting coil windings 1054. fig. 10c provides a perspective view of the reactor viewed along the z-axis, fig. 10d is an isometric cross-sectional view corresponding to section line a-a shown in fig. 10 a. as depicted, the reactor has the outer electrodes 1010, inner electrodes 1020, and a gap 10 defining an annular space 1040 between the two electrodes.a current (as depicted by the arrows in fig. 10 a) is generated by winding the superconducting coil windings 1054 of the reactor to generate an applied magnetic field substantially in the z direction through the annular space, as noted, in some embodiments, the applied magnetic field generated by winding the superconducting coil windings 1054 of the reactor, may be generated by a cryogenic liquid coil, such as a superconducting magnet coil, a superconducting coil may be manufactured under cryogenic liquid temperature conditions such as may be maintained by a cryomagnetic coil under cryogenic magnetic field, e.g. atmospheric cooling conditions, a superconducting magnet may be maintained under atmospheric temperature conditions, a cryogenic magnetic field may be maintained, a superconducting coil may be maintained under conditions, a cryogenic magnetic field may be maintained under which may be maintained, such as may be maintained under conditions, a cryogenic magnetic field may be maintained under which may be obtained by a superconducting magnet, e.g. a superconducting coil, a superconducting magnet, a superconducting coil may be maintained under conditions, a cryogenic magnetic field may be maintained under conditions, a superconducting coil, a cryogenic magnetic field may be maintained under conditions, e.g. a superconducting coil may be maintained under conditions, a cryogenic magnetic field, a superconducting coil may be maintained under which may be maintained under conditions, a superconducting coil may be maintained under conditions, such as may be maintained under conditions, a superconducting coil, a condition, a superconducting coil may be maintained under which may be maintained under a condition, a superconducting coil, such as may be maintained under.

When an electromagnet or superconducting magnet is placed around the outer electrode, there may be a spacing between the outer electrode 1010 and the housing of the magnet 1056 which may be used to reduce heat transfer to the magnet, in some cases, a heat exchanger may be placed between the outer electrode 1010 and the magnetic housing, when the outer electrode has a porous or mesh structure, there may be a spacing between the outer electrode and the magnet housing which allows charged particles to pass through the outer electrode, charged particles (e.g., α particles) passing through the outer electrode may be constrained in the r-direction by ion cyclotron motion so that they do not collide with the housing 1156, in some cases, the spacing between the outer electrodes is about 3 cm to 6 cm, in some cases about 6 cm to 10 cm, as described elsewhere herein, charged particles may then travel in the z-direction towards the energy conversion device for generating electrical energy fig. 11a-b describe a reaction stack in which a disk-shaped permanent magnet is placed on either end of the annular space 1140 to generate a substantially axially oriented applied magnetic field (i.e., it points in the z-direction), fig. 11a provides electrical energy in which is provided in the z-direction, and a magnet is depicted in a view of the same as an annular space with two magnet with a magnet 1110, which is depicted in a magnet with a magnet having a magnet with a substantially aligned outer electrode, e.g. a magnet, a magnet with a magnet, a magnet with a magnet, which is depicted in a magnet with a magnet, which is oriented in a magnet with a magnet, which is oriented in a magnet, which is.

Fig. 12a-b depict another embodiment in which a plurality of permanent magnets 1250 (e.g., in the same orientation as the disk magnets depicted in fig. 11) having the same polarity in the z-direction are placed on either side of the annular space 1240 to generate an applied magnetic field in the z-direction along the inner surface of the outer electrode 1212. Fig. 12a provides a perspective view in the z-direction, while fig. 12b provides an isometric cross-sectional view corresponding to the section line indicated in fig. 12 a. Some features are labeled in the enlarged view 1201 that describe how the annular space is bounded by the inner electrode 1220, the outer electrode 1210, and the permanent magnet 1250. The use of multiple smaller magnets may serve to reduce the cost and physical limitations associated with larger overall magnets in large reactors. The arrangement of magnets 1250 shown in fig. 12a and 12b can be viewed as effectively creating two facing ring magnets. Although not shown, in some embodiments, a combination of different magnet shapes is used to generate the axial magnetic field. For example, a ring magnet may be used on one side of the annular space, while a plurality of rod magnets may be used on the other side.

Fig. 13a-c depict an embodiment in which a reactor 1300 with a single inner electrode 1320 has multiple annular spaces 1340 arranged along the z-direction separated by permanent magnets 1350. As depicted, the reactor has an inner electrode 1320, a plurality of outer electrodes 1310 (which are a combination of wall segments) that form the confinement walls 1312, and an annular space 1340 between each outer and inner electrode. Fig. 13a provides a perspective view looking in the z-direction, while fig. 13b and 13c provide a cross-sectional view and an isometric cross-sectional view, respectively, corresponding to the section lines indicated in fig. 13 a. When permanent magnets are placed at either end of the annular space, the length of the annular space in the z-direction may be limited by the strength of the magnetic field that can be generated by the permanent magnets. In some cases, the annular space may be limited to, for example, about 5 or 10 centimeters. By arranging the magnets 1350 in the Z-direction between the plurality of annular spaces 1340, the total surface area on the constraining walls 1312 of the outer electrode 1310 can be increased. As with the previous embodiment, each magnet 1350 has the same orientation along the z-axis. This design is effective in utilizing permanent magnets between the annular spaces because each pole contributes to the shaping of the magnetic field applied to the bordering annular space. Although the described embodiment shows the use of a ring magnet, many other shapes may be used; for example, each magnet bordering the annular space may be composed of many smaller magnets that together form an annular structure (see fig. 12 a-b). In some embodiments, the outer electrode 1310 may be segmented into physically distinct portions that are electrically isolated. In some embodiments, the outer electrodes may be integral or otherwise electrically connected, for example, such that each outer electrode corresponding to each annular space 1340 is grounded.

Fig. 14a-c depict an embodiment in which a single reactor structure 1400 has a plurality of annular spaces 1440 aligned in the z-direction separated by permanent magnets 1450. As depicted, the reactor has a plurality of inner electrodes 1420 and a plurality of outer electrodes 1410 forming a confining wall 1412, the confining wall 1412 serving as an annular space 1440 between each set of electrodes. Fig. 14a provides a perspective view in the z-direction, and fig. 14b and 14c provide a cross-sectional view and an isometric cross-sectional view corresponding to the section lines indicated in fig. 14 a. Rather than employing a ring magnet and a single inner electrode as described for the embodiment of fig. 13a-c, the embodiment of fig. 14a-c employs a disk magnet and multiple inner electrode segments. The description of the corresponding features from fig. 13a-c is applicable to the embodiment of fig. 14 a-c. In some embodiments, the illustrated reactor may operate using only a subset of the available annular space, depending on energy requirements. For example, in some embodiments, only fusion reactants are introduced into one annular space, and only voltage potentials are applied to inner electrodes adjacent to the annular space. In this way, the energy output of the reactor can be controlled to meet energy requirements, even in real time if desired. Thus, in some embodiments, each inner electrode 1420 and/or outer electrode 1410 is independently controllable.

Fig. 15 a-15 c illustrate the magnetic field generated by a series of rings, with the magnets 1550 being substantially coaxial and having the same orientation. Fig. 15a is an isometric view of three magnets, fig. 15b depicts a view along a shared axis of the magnets, and fig. 15c is a cross-sectional view corresponding to line a-a in fig. 15 b. While the previous embodiments have utilized magnets that are offset from the annular space in the z-direction, the magnets may also be offset radially from the annular space in the r-direction. As illustrated by the dashed lines in fig. 15c, each ring magnet, when considered individually, generates a magnetic field 1545 that starts at its north pole and ends at its south pole. When multiple ring magnets are placed adjacent to each other, the net effect may be a combined magnetic field that is a superposition of the individual magnetic fields and that is directed substantially along the shared axis, as indicated by the solid magnetic field lines 1546. This magnet arrangement can be used to extend the feasible length of the annular space of the reactor while using permanent magnets.

Fig. 16 a-16 c illustrate an embodiment using a radially offset ring magnet 1650 to generate an axial magnetic field through the annular space. As depicted, the reactor has a single inner electrode 1620 and a single outer electrode 1610 forming a containment wall 1612 for an annular space 1640 between the electrodes. Fig. 16a provides a perspective view of the reactor as viewed in the z-direction, while fig. 16b and 16c provide a cross-sectional view and an isometric cross-sectional view corresponding to the section lines indicated in fig. 16 a. Each magnet 1650 has the same polarity in the z-direction. For example, as depicted, each magnet 1650 has a south pole facing in the positive z-direction. This embodiment allows for an annular space extending in the z-direction, creating a larger surface area on the constraining wall 1610, and allowing for a larger power output potential. The overlapping features of the corresponding embodiments of fig. 13 and 14 are applicable to the embodiments of fig. 16 a-c.

Fig. 17 a-17 c illustrate an embodiment in which radial offset magnets (1750, 1752) are used to generate an axial magnetic field through a single annular space. As depicted, the reactor has a single inner electrode 1720 and a single outer electrode 1710 forming a confinement wall 1712 for a single annular space 1740 between the electrodes. Fig. 17a provides a perspective view of the reactor viewed in the z-direction, while fig. 17b and 17c provide a cross-sectional view and an isometric cross-sectional view corresponding to the section line indicated in fig. 17 a. The embodiment of fig. 17a-c is beyond that described with respect to fig. 16a-c in that an additional magnet 1752 is placed in the interior region of the inner electrode 1620. As depicted, the additional magnets 1752 have the same orientation in the z-direction as the external magnets 1750. In some embodiments, as depicted in fig. 17b and 17c, the inner ring magnets 1752 are aligned with the outer ring magnets 1750 in the z-direction. In some embodiments, the inner ring magnet may be offset from the outer ring magnet, or the spacing between the magnets may be different than the spacing of the outer magnets. In some embodiments, the inner magnet may take a different shape than the outer magnet, for example, the inner magnet may be a rod magnet.

In some embodiments, the permanent magnet is made of a rare earth element or an alloy of rare earth elements. Examples of suitable magnets include samarium-cobalt magnets and neodymium magnets. Other strong magnets now known or later developed may be suitable for use. In some embodiments, permanent magnets may be used to generate a magnetic field of about 0.1 to 1.5 tesla in the annular space; in some embodiments, the permanent magnet may generate a magnetic field of about 0.1 to about 0.5 tesla in the annular space.

Not all reactors require permanent magnets. Some employ electromagnets or superconducting magnets as explained with reference to fig. 10 a-d. Some reactors employ a combination of two or more of permanent magnets and electromagnets. Fig. 18a-d depict a first embodiment in which an axial magnetic field is applied by an electromagnet. As depicted, the reactor has an inner electrode 1820 and an outer electrode 1810 forming a containment wall 1812 for an annular space 1840 between the electrodes. Figure 18a shows an isometric view of an electromagnet placed on a reactor. Fig. 18b provides a perspective view of the reactor along the z-axis, while fig. 18c and 18d depict a cross-sectional view and an isometric cross-sectional view corresponding to the section line shown in fig. 18 b. Current is passed through coil windings 1854 that encircle the reactor in the z-direction to generate an applied magnetic field substantially in the z-direction through the reactor, as depicted by the magnetic field lines in fig. 18 c. The current through the conductive coil may be provided by an AC or DC power source. In the case where the conductive coil is driven by an AC power source, the inner and/or outer electrodes may also be driven by an AC power source of the same frequency. This is done so that the rotation of the charged particles is maintained in the same direction, rather than alternating directions, which would occur if the alternating polarity of the magnetic field were not synchronized with the electric field. The coil may be made of a conductive material such as copper, aluminum, gold, or silver. In some embodiments, the coil is in the form of a wire wrapped around the outer electrode, and in some embodiments, the coil is placed in a separate housing, which may be around the outer electrode.

Reverse electrical polarity embodiments

The reverse electric polarity rotor was described previously in fig. 5a to 5 c. Generally, unless otherwise specified, the structure corresponding to the electrode of the first embodiment also describes a reverse electric polarity rotor. For example, the materials used for the inner and outer electrodes, the gap between the electrodes (542 in fig. 5 a), and the configuration of the magnets used to generate the magnetic field in the z-direction may be the same as described for the concentric electrode reactor. However, as explained below, some embodiments employ different structural configurations and/or different materials (e.g., different materials on the inner electrode).

Fig. 5d depicts the cross selection of a rotor of opposite electrical polarity. The electric field may be applied in the negative r direction by applying a negative voltage to the inner electrode and grounding the outer electrode, by grounding the inner electrode and applying a positive potential to the outer electrode, or by applying more negative potential to the inner electrode than to the outer electrode. When an electric field is generated by applying an electric potential to the inner and/or outer electrodes, the positively charged particles in the annular space 540 are pulled towards the inner electrode 520. As the charged particles move inward, the lorentz forces azimuthally accelerate the particles, which may result in a helical trajectory, as illustrated by path 503. Throughout the ion-neutral coupling, neutrals in the annular space co-rotate with the positively charged particles. Due to the potential difference between the inner and outer electrodes, the remaining electrons on the inner electrode form an electron rich region 532 near the electrode surface, which rotates in the same direction as the positively charged particles due to the lorentz force. As discussed elsewhere, this electron rich region can reduce the coulomb barrier between the fusion nuclei. In some cases, the electron rich region can extend from about 100 microns to about 3 millimeters from the surface of the inner electrode.

In some cases, recombination of charged species occurs when positively charged particles move inward, when the positively charged particles contact an inner electrode, or when the positively charged particles encounter free electrons in an electron-rich region. In some cases, positively charged particles may orbit the inner electrode at a Larmor (Larmor) radius 502. In some embodiments, the concentration of positively charged particles may vary in the radial direction. For example, the concentration of positively charged particles around the annular space at the Larmor radius may be higher than near the outer electrode. Such a gradient of charged particles may result in a velocity profile within the annular space, where particles near the outer wall tend to move more slowly, where a higher concentration of neutrals is present due to centrifugal forces, and fewer positively charged particles drive the neutrals into motion.

In some embodiments, the inner electrode is constructed of a single material such as tantalum, tungsten, copper, carbon, or lanthanum hexaboride. In some cases, the inner electrode has a conductive core 520a coated with an electron emitting and/or target material 520 b. For example, the inner electrode may have a core made of a conductive and heat resistant material (e.g., tungsten) coated with lanthanum hexaboride, boron nitride, or another boron-containing material. In some cases, the inner electrode has a diameter of between about 1 cm and about 3 cm, in some cases, about 4 cm to about 6 cm. In some cases, the inner electrode has a tiny cross-section, which may be a filament or wire, for example. In such embodiments, the inner electrode may have a diameter of less than about 0.5 millimeters, less than about 0.1 millimeters, or less than about 0.05 millimeters. In some cases, the length of the inner electrode in the z-direction can extend from about 3 centimeters to about 10 centimeters. In some cases, the inner electrode may be small in the z-direction, e.g., less than about 3 centimeters, or less than about 1 centimeter. In some embodiments, the inner electrode may be much longer in the z-direction, e.g., longer than about 20 centimeters. In some cases, the z-direction confinement region (the length of overlap of the inner and outer electrodes) for a reverse polarity reactor may be limited by the power source that applies the charge to the inner and/or outer electrodes. In some cases, the length in the z-direction may depend on the gas pressure within the confinement region. In some cases, if the gas pressure is reduced to a very low pressure, allowing for increased length in the z-direction, the power required to generate a plasma in the annular space may be reduced.

FIG. 19a depicts several methods of actively cooling the inner electrode. In some cases, the inner electrode 1910 has an internal passageway 1928 through which fluid removes heat. For example, water may be pumped through the internal channels to remove heat from the inner electrode. In some cases, the inner electrodes may be connected with thermally conductive and electrically insulating ceramic blocks 1923. The ceramic block may be made of a material such as alumina. Heat is removed from the ends of the internal electrodes connected thereto by heat dissipation through the ceramic block. In some cases, the ceramic block contains openings or holes to support the inner electrodes. In some cases, the inner electrode is fixed to the ceramic using a set screw. In some cases, heat conducted through the ceramic block is used to generate electricity, such as through a thermoelectric generator or heat exchanger connected to the ceramic block.

In some cases, the inner electrode may be replaced if the target material is consumed or if the electrode is damaged. For example, a boron-coated filament used as an inner electrode may be replaced when the boron coating is consumed or when the filament breaks.

In certain embodiments, the length of the inner electrode extends beyond the annular space (defined by the z-direction edge of the outer electrode). In some cases, the position of the inner electrode is adjusted in the z-direction, for example by a linear actuator. For example, if the inner electrode is a wire, the wire may be stretched through the annular space during reactor operation to prevent the inner electrode from melting, or to replace a portion of the wire where the target material (e.g., boron coating) has been consumed.

In some cases, the width of the inner electrode may vary in the z-direction. Fig. 19b depicts a configuration in which the inner electrode 1920 extends beyond the outer electrode 1910 and is held in place by an extended sleeve 1921 that may serve as an inner electrode. Sleeve 1921 may be made of an electrically conductive material such as copper, stainless steel, and tantalum. In some cases, an electrical potential may be applied to the inner electrode through the sleeve; this can reduce resistive heating of the inner electrode having a small diameter. In some cases, the diameter of the sleeve may be much larger than the diameter of the inner electrode. For example, the sleeve may have a diameter greater than about 10 centimeters, while the inner electrode has a diameter less than about 0.5 millimeters. In some configurations, a set screw may be used to secure the inner electrode to the sleeve. In some embodiments, the sleeve may be directly threadably connected to the sleeve. These and other attachments may allow inner electrode 1920 to be replaceable, while sleeve 1921 is permanent. In some cases, the sleeve may be coated with a target material such as boron. In some cases, the sleeve may be cooled from the inside, as discussed in fig. 19 a.

As with the first embodiment reactor, the gap between the inner and outer electrodes may be limited by the ability of the power supply to generate plasma in the confinement region. In some cases, the outer electrode may be similar in structure to the outer electrode described in the first embodiment. In some cases, the outer electrode may have an outer insulating layer. This may be useful, for example, if an alternating signal is applied to the electrodes of the reactor, or if the reverse-electric polarity reactor is part of a modular unit consisting of additional reactors that need to be electrically isolated from each other. Typically, the support structure for both the inner and outer electrodes may comprise an electrically insulating material, insulating the electrodes from the reactor housing and preventing an alternating current path between the electrodes. In some cases, the outer electrode is a metal sheet (e.g., a copper sheet) that is constrained to be cylindrical by placement within a quartz tube. In some cases, the outer electrode is a solid tubular structure placed within the insulating structure. In another embodiment, the electrode is prepared by coating the inner surface of a quartz tube with a metallic conductive coating.

As discussed elsewhere, only a small number of ions or positively charged particles are required to drive many neutral particles into rotation. The concentration of neutrals increases in the radial direction due to the confining walls associated with the outer electrode. However, the rotating neutrals are not affected by radial electric fields or axial magnetic fields. Due to random collisions with the outer wall and other particles, neutrals may be deflected to the electron rich region, and in some cases, the neutrals may strike the target material on the inner electrode, resulting in a fusion event. Also, in some cases, positively charged particles can also be deflected to produce fusion reactions (e.g., proton-boron)¹¹Fusion reaction).

In some cases, the reverse electric polarity reactor is operated at a constant voltage. For example, the voltage supply may apply an electrical potential to the inner and/or outer electrodes such that the potential difference between the electrodes is maintained constant or substantially constant during reactor operation. In another mode of operation, the reverse polarity reactor is operated at a constant current. It may be beneficial to operate at a constant current when the inner electrodes are small and prone to failure due to resistive heating. In some cases, the reactor is initially operated using a constant voltage, and then switched to a constant current mode of operation.

In some configurations, an energy storage device, such as a capacitor or battery, is used to apply an electrical potential to the inner and/or outer electrodes to initiate the fusion reaction. In some cases, the circuit regulates current and/or voltage supplied through the energy storage device. In some cases, an energy device (e.g., a capacitor) is connected to the inner and/or outer electrodes and discharged until the energy storage device can no longer produce an electric field strong enough to support fusion reactions. In some cases, the reactor setup has an additional energy storage device, which is charged by the electrical energy produced by the fusion reaction, while the first energy storage device is discharged. The controller then operates a switch that alternates the energy storage device between charging and discharging modes so that the fusion reaction can be maintained.

In some cases, the power supply is disconnected from the inner and/or outer electrodes, and the fusion reaction continues to occur for a period of time (e.g., about 10 seconds) before the potential difference between the electrodes is no longer sufficient to sustain the reaction. When the electric field becomes too small to sustain the fusion reaction, the voltage or current source can be reconnected to apply a negative potential to the inner electrode.

The gas pressure in the annular space may be about 1 atmosphere or higher prior to operation of the reverse polarity reactor. In some cases, such as when the inner electrode is long in the z-direction, the inner electrode can have a low pressure to reduce the power required to initiate the fusion reaction. In some cases, the pressure within the annulus may be reduced to less than about 1 torr or less than about 10 mtorr prior to operating the reactor. In some cases, the pressure within the annular space can be regulated by inlet and outlet valves to control the rate of fusion reactions.

For reverse polarity reactors, the magnetic field in the confinement region is sometimes greater than about 0.5 tesla, sometimes greater than about 1 tesla, and sometimes greater than about 3 tesla. In some embodiments of the reverse polarity reactor, the magnetic field is substantially non-perpendicular to the electric field between the inner and outer electrodes. In some embodiments, the magnetic field is not uniform throughout the confinement region. By adjusting the position and orientation of the magnets and/or electrodes, the magnetic field in the confinement region can be adjusted. In some cases, the non-uniform magnetic field may increase the rate at which ions and neutrals collide with the inner electrode. In general, the applied magnetic field and/or the applied electrical potential to the electrodes may vary depending on the reactor geometry, reactant gas composition, and reactant gas pressure.

In some cases, the fusion products can be pumped to another reactor where the fusion products serve as a reactant.for example, α particles or helium atoms produced in a reverse electrode reactor can be moved to another reactor configured to support a helium-helium fusion reaction.

Reverse field reactor embodiments

Another reactor embodiment has a reverse field configuration as previously described with respect to fig. 6 a-d. This arrangement employs a lorentz rotor to impart and maintain rotational motion of the particles in the annular space. In general, many of the reactors described herein can be reconfigured to apply a reverse field, although the magnetic and electric field orientations are reversed.

The magnetic field may be applied in a radial direction using permanent magnets (616 and 626) made of a magnetic material such as described with respect to the first embodiment. In some cases, the permanent magnets may be replaced with a plurality of azimuthally offset electromagnets having radially oriented axes such that a magnetic field oriented substantially in the r-direction is applied throughout the annular space. In some cases, the surface of the confinement wall may include one or more layers that protect the magnetic material. For example, an aluminum or tantalum layer may provide protection for an external or internal magnet. In some cases, the protective layer can include a target material that contains fusion reactants or electron emitters. In some cases, the confinement walls may have an internal cooling system that keeps the material below its melting point and prevents the magnet from demagnetizing.

In the concentric electrode embodiment, the gap between the inner and outer electrodes is sometimes constrained by the available power to ionize the gas in the annular space. Similarly, in the reverse field configuration, the confinement region in the z- direction separating electrodes 660a and 660b may be limited. For example, in some cases, the spacing between the electrodes is in the range of about 1 millimeter to about 50 centimeters, and in some cases, the spacing between the electrodes is in the range of about 5 centimeters to about 20 centimeters.

In the concentric electrode embodiment, the length of the annular space in the z-direction may sometimes be limited by the strength of the permanent magnet. Similarly, in the reverse field configuration, the gap in the r direction may sometimes be limited by the generation of a strong magnetic field near the confining wall surface. In some cases, the radial gap may be limited to, for example, about 10 centimeters or less, or about 5 centimeters or less. In some cases, the gap may be larger when the magnet 616 itself provides a sufficiently strong magnetic field near the confinement surface; for example, in some cases, the gap may be greater than about 10 centimeters. In some cases, an internal magnet may not be necessary.

Wave particle reactor embodiment

An alternative reactor configuration, sometimes referred to as a ripple embodiment, was briefly described previously and is depicted in fig. 7a and 7 b. In a particle embodiment, the charged particles are driven into rotation by an oscillating electrostatic field. Neutral charged particles. The electric field is generated by applying an electric charge to azimuthally separated electrodes located on the confinement walls, the inner walls, or another structure in communication with the confinement region. Since this embodiment does not require a magnetic field, the structural limitations imposed by the use of magnets do not apply. For example, the radius of the reactor may be larger than would be feasible with a ring or disc magnet. Furthermore, the structural limitations imposed by the concentric electrodes are also not applicable, since this embodiment does not require a current flow between the inner and outer electrodes. In some embodiments of the bump design, the radius of the constraining wall may be greater than about 2 meters, in some designs greater than about 10 meters, and in some cases greater than about 50 meters. In contrast to some implementations of lorentz rotors, the length of the reactor in the z-direction is not limited by the strength of the permanent magnets, which can sometimes occur in concentric electrode implementations. In some embodiments, the length of the confinement region (e.g., annular region) in the z-direction can be greater than about 1 meter, in some cases greater than about 10 meters, and in some cases greater than about 100 meters. In one embodiment, the reactor has a curvature in the z-direction such that the constraining wall forms a torus or torus-like shape. In general, the size limitations of a reactor may be governed by the energy requirements of the reactor and the costs associated with production. In a wave particle embodiment, the degree of control over the rotating material can be set by defining the number and size of azimuthally offset electrodes that affect the confinement region. The relatively large number of electrodes along the confining wall allows the electric field lines to be more finely modulated, which may improve the efficiency of the electric field for moving the charged particles. In some cases, this is because the dynamically changing electric field drives the particle spot primarily in the azimuthal direction rather than the radial direction. Typically, the reactor will have at least three azimuthally spaced electrodes. Some reactors may have at least five azimuthally spaced electrodes and some reactors may have more than about 50 azimuthally spaced electrodes. In some cases, the number of electrodes is proportional to the size of the reactor. For example, a reactor having a radius of about 1 meter may have about 20 to about 40 azimuthally spaced electrodes along the confinement walls, while a reactor having a radius of about 2 meters may have about 40 to about 80 azimuthally spaced electrodes. In some cases, the ratio of the circumference of the reactor (in meters) to the number of azimuthally spaced inner or outer electrodes is between about 3 and about 150, and in some cases, between about 20 and 100.

In some cases, the electrodes are separated by an electrically insulating material (e.g., aluminum nitride or boron nitride). The insulating material may be thick enough so that the material does not experience electrical breakdown. The minimum thickness may be determined by the dielectric strength of the insulating material and the voltage applied to the electrodes. In some cases, the electrically insulating material contains a target material (a fusion reactant such as boron-11) and/or an electron emitter.

In some cases, the width of the electrodes in the azimuthal direction may be less than about 10 centimeters, in some cases less than about 5 centimeters, and in some cases less than about 2 centimeters. The electrodes may have any of a variety of shapes. For example, they may be circular or polygonal. In some cases, they are rectangular. In some embodiments, the reactor utilizes electrodes spaced only azimuthally along the confinement walls. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the reactor utilizes electrodes only along the inner wall, or only electrodes that limit the confinement region in the z-direction (e.g., the electrode arrangement may correspond to electrodes 660a and 660b of the reverse field embodiment depicted in fig. 6 c). In the case where the electrode itself does not define the confinement wall, the surface of the confinement wall may be made of another material (e.g., a target material or an electron emitter). For example, the electrode may be separated from the confinement region by a sleeve containing a sampling sheet made of lanthanum hexaboride.

In some cases, the constraining wall arrangement has a thermal management component, such as a heat exchanger (e.g., a cooling jacket). The heat exchanger may be used to prevent overheating and/or supply of the electrodes to provide heated fluid to the heat engine for generation of electrical or thermal energy. In some cases, heat may be removed from the reactor by passing a fluid, such as water, through the channels in the containment wall. For example, the insulating material separating the azimuthally separated electrodes may have an internal channel through which the fluid passes.

In the concentric electrode embodiment, the gap between the inner and outer electrodes is sometimes limited due to the limited power available to ionize the gas in the confinement region. In a wave particle configuration, the gap between adjacently positioned electrically isolated electrodes may also be constrained. For example, in some cases, the spacing between the electrodes is in the range of about 1 millimeter to about 50 centimeters on average, and in some cases, the spacing between the electrodes is in the range of about 5 centimeters to about 20 centimeters on average.

In some cases, a wave particle reactor has more than one mode of operation. For example, a first stage may be employed to initiate or strike the plasma, and a subsequent stage may be used to drive ions in the rotational direction (and indirectly drive neutrals). For example, a radio frequency electric field may be applied radially between an inner electrode and an outer electrode to produce a weakly ionized plasma to prepare the reactor for operation. Once a plasma has been generated between the inner and outer electrodes, the reactor may switch to a mode in which drive signals are sequentially applied to the azimuthally distributed electrodes to drive rotation of the charged particles and neutrals.

Depending on the reactor configuration and desired rotational speed, the oscillating signals applied to the azimuthally distributed electrodes to drive the rotation of ions and neutrals can be provided over a wide range of selected frequencies. For example, a drive signal having a frequency in the range of about 60kHz to 1THz, and in some cases about 60kHz to 1GHz, may be applied. In some cases, the frequency of the drive signal may start low and then increase gradually or abruptly. For example, the drive signal may start at a relatively low frequency, such as 60kHz, and eventually ramp up to a higher frequency, such as 100 MHz.

In some cases, the drive signal applies a charge (appies charge) using a controlled voltage. To avoid arcing between the electrodes, it is desirable to apply the charge using a high voltage and a low current, rather than a high current at a low voltage. In some cases, the drive signal is applied to the azimuthally spaced electrodes between about 1 kilovolt and about 100 kilovolts. In some cases, the drive signal may apply more than 100 kilovolts to the electrodes.

Using electrostatic forces, the wave particle embodiments may induce rotational speeds that exceed those typically found in lorentz driven reactors having similar reactor configurations (e.g., similar confinement radii). In some cases, an electrostatically driven reactor may drive the rotation of the gaseous species at a rate of at least about 1000RPS, in some cases at least about 100000 RPS. In a wave particle implementation, a control system may be used to direct how charge is applied to the electrodes. In some cases, the control system adjusts the charge sequence applied to the electrodes using the detected velocity as feedback, which is determined using a high-speed camera or another sensor. In general, azimuthally separated electrodes may have similar structural considerations and may be made of materials similar to those described with respect to the above embodiments employing magnetic fields.

Hybrid design reactor

Another general reactor configuration, which may be referred to as a hybrid reactor configuration, is briefly described with respect to fig. 6 a-6 f. This configuration employs both a lorentz rotor and a wave particle driver to impart and maintain a rotational motion of the particles in the annular space. Some aspects of the above description of the reverse field embodiment may be applicable when operating a lorentz rotor in a hybrid reactor. Similarly, some aspects of the above description of the ripple particle embodiments may be applicable when operating with azimuthally spaced electrodes of a hybrid reactor.

As with the reverse field embodiment, the magnetic field may be applied in a radial direction using permanent magnets (616 and 626), which may be made of magnetic material, such as those described with respect to the first embodiment. In some cases, the permanent magnets may be replaced with a plurality of azimuthally offset electromagnets having radially oriented axes such that a magnetic field oriented substantially in the r-direction is applied throughout the confinement region. In some cases, the surface of the confinement wall may include one or more layers that protect the magnetic material. For example, an aluminum or tantalum layer may provide protection for the external magnet or the internal magnet. In some cases, the protective layer can include a target material that contains fusion reactants or electron emitters. In some cases, the confinement walls may have an internal cooling system to keep the material below its melting temperature and prevent the magnet from demagnetizing.

In the concentric electrode embodiment, the gap between the inner and outer electrodes is sometimes limited by the available power to ionize the gas in the annular space. Similarly, in a hybrid reactor implementation configuration, the confinement region or annular space in the z- direction separating electrodes 660a and 660b may be limited. For example, in some cases, the spacing between the electrodes is about 1 millimeter to about 50 centimeters, and in some cases, the spacing between the electrodes is about 5 centimeters to about 20 centimeters.

In a concentric electrode embodiment, the length of the annular space in the z-direction may sometimes be limited by the strength of the permanent magnet. Similarly, in a hybrid configuration, the gap in the r-direction may sometimes be limited by the need to generate a strong magnetic field near the surface of the constraining wall. In some cases, the radial gap may be limited, for example, to about 10 centimeters or less, or about 5 centimeters or less. In some cases, the gap may be larger when the magnet 616 itself provides a sufficiently strong magnetic field near the confinement surface; for example, in some cases, the gap may be greater than about 10 centimeters. In some cases, an internal magnet may not be required.

In a hybrid embodiment, the control system may be used to direct how the control signals are applied to the azimuthally separated signals. In some cases, the control system may receive feedback from the sensors to adjust the sequence of charges applied to the electrodes. In general, the electrodes (660a and 660b) may have similar structural considerations and may be made of the materials described as being suitable for use in fabricating the electrodes in the first embodiment.

In some configurations, the hybrid reactor is configured to switch between operating modes at or just prior to the fusion reaction. For example, the reactor may start running with a lorentz rotor and then switch to a wave particle driver to maintain the particles rotating. Under certain conditions, a lorentz force driven rotor may be more effective at initiating rotation of particles in the annular space. Once the particles in the annular space have reached a critical rotational speed in the reactor, in which the effect of using the lorentz rotor can no longer be seen, the reactor can be switched to a wave-particle-driven mode of operation. In some cases, by switching to the particle-driven mode of operation, greater particle velocity, and therefore more energy generation, can be achieved. In some cases, by switching to a mode of operation of the ripple drive, the energy generation can be adjusted with high accuracy by adjusting the sequence of drive signals applied to the azimuthally distributed electrodes (660a and 660 b). In some embodiments where an electromagnet is used to generate the electric field, the supply of current for controlling the magnetic field may be terminated when the reactor enters a wave mode of operation. This may be used to prevent lorentz forces from acting on the charged particles in the z-direction.

Electron emitter

As described elsewhere herein, the confinement walls are sometimes made at least in part of an electron emitting material, referred to herein as an electron emitter. These materials emit electrons via thermionic emission above a certain temperature. For example, some boron-based electron emitters have emission temperatures ranging from about 1500K to about 2500K. In some cases, the electron emitter may be in powder form that is compacted, sintered, or otherwise converted into a form suitable for placement within the annular space. In some cases, the electron emissive material may be sintered or deposited onto the confinement walls of the reactor using physical vapor deposition. In other cases, the electron emitter may be forged as a continuous structure that is formed as part of or attached to the confining wall.

Some electron emitters are materials with low work functions and do not degrade when exposed to heat and other conditions within the reactor. Examples of the electron emitter include oxides and borides such as barium oxide, strontium oxide, calcium oxide, aluminum oxide, thorium oxide, lanthanum hexaboride, cerium hexaboride, calcium hexaboride, strontium hexaboride, barium hexaboride, yttrium hexaboride, gadolinium hexaboride, samarium hexaboride, and thorium hexaboride. In some cases, the emitters may be carbides and borides of transition metals, such as zirconium carbide, hafnium carbide, tantalum carbide, and hafnium diboride. In some cases, the emitter can be used as a reactant for fusion reactions, e.g.⁶Li、¹⁵N、³He and D. In some cases, the electron emitter can be a compound that includes fusion reactants. For example, lanthanum hexaboride can be used as an electron emitter and for proton-¹¹Both target materials of B fusion. In some cases, the fusion reaction products can be used as electron emitters. In some cases, the electron emitter may be a composite of two or more materials, at least one of which has a low work function and emits electrons during operation.

In some cases, the electron emitter is attached as a solid component in the confinement wall of the reactor. In some embodiments, the electron emitter (which may be provided in the form of a sampling sheet) has a thin or flat structure and is attached to the confining wall without protruding significantly into the annular space. Fig. 20a depicts several illustrative cross-sections of electron emitters. In some embodiments, the electron emitters are attached to the surface of the constraining wall using mechanical fasteners such as clips or screws. In some cases, the electron emitter is configured to slide into a slot in the constraining wall and remain secured at least in part by friction. For example, the slot may have a groove or a clamping mechanism for securing the electron emitter. In some cases, the emitters are attached to the constraining walls by heat, adhesive, or another process. In some cases, the emitter structure has a thickness of less than about 1.2 centimeters, in some cases less than about 6 millimeters, and in some cases less than about 3 millimeters. The size of the electron emitter in the azimuthal or z-direction may be limited by the physical dimensions of the reactor. Fig. 20b depicts several configurations in which the electron emitters 2036 may be symmetrically distributed along the surface of the constraining wall 2010, and in some configurations, the electron emitters may be arranged in only a few selected areas.

In certain embodiments, when the emitters are disposed on the surface of the confinement walls, they are heated by friction and/or plasma heat inherent to reactor operation. In some cases, additional methods may be used to add energy to the electron emitters to increase the rate of electron emission. During initial operation of the reactor, while the reactor is still relatively cool, additional methods may be used to heat the emitter. In some cases, additional methods of increasing electron emission can be used to control the rate of fusion reactions.

In some embodiments, the electron emitters on the confinement walls are electrically connected to a power source to enhance electron emission. For example, in some embodiments, an electrical current is passed through a filament within the electron emissive material to provide joule heating. In some cases, the filaments are made of a refractory metal (such as tungsten). In some cases, such as when the confinement wall is grounded, the electron emitter may be separated from the grounded portion of the confinement wall by an electrically insulating material. In some cases, a direct current is applied to the filaments. In some cases, electron emission is further improved or controlled by applying an alternating current to the electron emitters, for example a current with a radio frequency or microwave signal.

Fig. 21a-b depict an example in which joule heating can be used to control electron emission in a reactor with concentric electrodes. Fig. 21a provides a z-direction view of a reactor having an inner electrode 2120, an outer electrode 2110 separated from the inner electrode by a confinement region 2140 (e.g., an annular space), and an electron emission module 2136 positioned along the confinement wall 2112 powered by a power source 2135. Fig. 21b provides an enlarged view of the electron emission module located on the confinement walls. The electron emission module includes an electron emitter material 2130, such as lanthanum hexaboride, heated by filaments 2134. In some cases, the module may include insulating layers, depicted as 2137 and 2138, which may provide electrical and/or thermal isolation from the outer electrodes and/or the constraining walls (assuming they are different). These insulating layers may be made of ceramic materials such as zirconia, alumina, zinc nitride and magnesia. In some embodiments, the position of the electron emission module may be adjusted during operation of the reactor. For example, using an actuator, the module may be moved radially inward into the confinement region to increase electron emission caused by frictional heating of the rotating mass. Alternatively, to limit the reaction, the module may be pulled out of the confinement region to limit the electrons from being released.

In some embodiments, the electron emitter may have a sharp point or a tapered structure at one end for improved field electron emission. For example, when an electron emitter is supplied with an electric potential, a strong electric field present near a point may cause field electron emission to be concentrated at the position of the point due to the narrowing of the geometry.

In some embodiments, one or more lasers are used to increase or otherwise control electron emission from the emitters. As depicted in fig. 22, reactor 2200 may be configured with a laser 2231 to direct light within a confined area 2240 onto electron emitters 2230. As described, light from the laser can be optically guided through or along the inner electrode 2220 via the insulated optical fiber 2239. The lasers may be directed (be directed at) emitters for thermionic emission, they may also be directed at other materials, such as titanium on the confinement walls, which may exhibit a photoelectric effect. For example, when photons are struck, the metal and conductor can exhibit a photoelectric effect, producing a charge imbalance that is not neutralized by the current. While fig. 22 depicts the first embodiment, in the reverse electrical polarity embodiment, the laser may be directed toward the internally negatively charged electrode to increase electron emission.

Gas supply system

The reactor may have one or more gas valves for introducing fusion reactants and removing fusion products. In some cases, a standardized gas valve may be used. For example, gas valves for low pressure deposition and etching chambers may be suitable for use in reactors. In some cases, the gaseous reactants are released into the confinement region at an interior location; for example, the reactant species may be routed through the inner electrode. In some cases, the gas valve may be located at one end of the confinement region or annular space in the z-direction, and in other cases, the gaseous reactant species is introduced into the confinement region through a valve located within the confinement wall. The outlet valve for the fusion products can be placed in a similar position to the inlet valve. When fusion products are removed during reactor operation, the outlet valve can be located on or adjacent to the confinement wall, but offset from the confinement region in the z-direction. In some cases, the inlet and outlet valves may need to be electrically isolated from the electrodes to avoid shorting by grounding.

In some cases, the gas inlet introduces neutrals near the confinement region, while the gas outlet removes neutrals that have migrated beyond what has occurred in the z-direction of the reactor.

While the discussed embodiments describe gaseous species, in other embodiments, the fusion reactants are introduced into the confinement region in liquid form. In some cases, rather than filling the confinement region with fusion reactants in gaseous form, the confinement region may be filled or partially filled with liquid fuel. For example, instead of gaseous hydrogen, liquids containing hydrogen that is available or readily releasable may be used, such as liquid hydrogen, ammonia, alkanes such as butane or methane, and liquid hydrides. In some cases, the liquid fuel is provided in a manner that evaporates quickly upon entering the chamber. In some cases, liquid fuel is added to the reactor for controlling the pressure within the reactor. For example, by using a temperature difference and a confinement region of known volume, the pressure within the confinement region can be back-calculated using the ideal gas law. In some cases, the gaseous reactant pressure within the reactor may be carefully monitored so that a high neutral density is maintained without the structural integrity of the reactor being compromised.

When the reactor is a lorentz rotor, the liquid fuel may be added in sufficient quantity or under thermal conditions so that the liquid does not immediately evaporate upon entering the containment area. In such a case, an electric current may be passed through the liquid fuel by applying an electric potential between the electrodes. In some cases, the liquid is seeded with charged particles such as potassium. In the presence of a magnetic field, the lorentz force drives the charged and neutral components of the liquid fuel to rotate. As the kinetic energy of the spin column increases, the liquid near the boundary layer along the confinement wall can evaporate, releasing hydrogen or another reactant gas that can fuse with the target material on the confinement wall. For example, proton-¹¹And B fusion. In some cases, the gaseous layer developing between the rotating liquid and the constraining wall may create a sliding layer that causes the liquid in the constraining region to rotate even faster by reducing drag imposed by the liquid-wall interface. In some cases, the liquid may absorb heat and may reduce concerns about electrode melting. Since the liquid fusion reactants can have a high density compared to gas, the liquid can be used for a long time without replacement. Although not limited to embodiments using liquid fuel, in some cases, the reactor may have a relief valve to release gas from the reactor if the pressure exceeds a threshold. In some cases, such as in transportation applications, the polyamphoter may be stored in liquid form and delivered to the reactor as a liquid or vaporized prior to delivery. By storing fusion reactants in liquid formThe fuel supply is small and compact.

In some cases, the liquid fuel may be supplied to the reactor through a pressurized tank. In some cases, the fusion reactant (e.g., hydrogen) may be contained in a capsule provided to the reactor. For example, hydrogen may be stored in a glass capsule and supplied to the reactor through the holes of the confining wall. In some cases, the hydrogen gas may be provided in a pressurized form (e.g., several atmospheres), and in some cases, the hydrogen gas may be provided in a liquid form. In the event that the reactor has been operated, the temperature within the reactor may melt the capsule reservoir material, causing the fuel to be released immediately or over a delayed period (e.g., a few minutes). In some cases, such as when the reactor is cooled and not operating, a laser (e.g., as described in fig. 22) may be directed at the fuel capsule to break the capsule material and release the reactant or fuel. In situations such as automotive applications, storing small quantities of fusion reactants such as hydrogen in a capsule increases convenience by reducing or eliminating the hardware (e.g., pressurized tanks) that may be required to safely store the reactants.

In some cases, fusion reactants such as hydrogen may be introduced into the reactor as solid compounds. For example, when hydrogen fuel is consumed in the reactor, fusion fuel pellets made of polyethylene or polypropylene may be provided to the reactor through holes in the containment wall. Once in the reactor, the high temperature caused by reactor operation or laser energy (such as the laser depicted in fig. 22) can be sufficient to break down the fusion species and release hydrogen. In some embodiments, ammonia borane (also known as triazabendorane) may be used as the hydrogen fuel. Ammonia borane releases molecular hydrogen and gaseous boron-nitrogen compounds when the reactor reaches temperatures greater than about 100 ℃. In some cases, ammonia borane or boron-nitrogen compounds may act as electron emitters, and in some cases, boron atoms from ammonia borane may undergo fusion reactions with hydrogen atoms during reactor operation. In many applications (e.g., automotive applications), solid fuels may increase convenience by reducing or eliminating the hardware that may be required to safely store gaseous or liquid fuels.

Cooling system

In some cases, to be able to operate the reactor continuously, the reactor must be cooled to prevent overheating of the electrodes, magnets and/or other components. In some embodiments, the reactor may be cooled by being completely immersed in a liquid bath. In some embodiments, the reactor includes a heat sink that draws heat out of the reactor by conduction and transfers the heat to a fluid medium, such as air or a liquid coolant. As an example, a heat exchanger may be used. A fan or pump may be used to control the flow rate conditions and help carry away the heat transferred to the fluid medium. Depending on the temperature monitored within the reactor, the fluid velocity may be adjusted such that the fluid flow is adjusted between laminar and turbulent flow. In some embodiments, the fluid is passed through a cooling jacket external to the reactor, and in some cases, cooling tubes may be used to cool components within the reactor. As discussed elsewhere herein, the radiator may be used to transfer heat to a working fluid that the heat engine uses for generating electrical energy. Examples of liquids that may be used as the working fluid for cooling the reactor include water, liquid lead, liquid sodium, liquid bismuth, molten salts, molten metals, and various organic compounds, including some alcohols, hydrocarbons, and halogenated hydrocarbons.

Power supply

The reactor may include one or more power supplies for supplying electrical current to the electrodes, electromagnets, and other electrical components required to operate the reactor. The power supply may control the current and/or voltage between two terminals (e.g., concentric electrodes). In some embodiments, the power source is capable of supplying a maximum voltage of about 200 volts to about 1000 volts. For example, in some embodiments, the power source may provide a voltage of up to 600 volts to the electrodes. In some embodiments, a mini-reactor may be capable of providing a current of about 0.1A to about 100A and/or delivering at least about 1 kilowatt of power. In some mesoscale embodiments, the reactor may be capable of providing a current of about 1A to about 1kA and/or delivering at least about 5 kilowatts of power. In some large scale embodiments, the reactor may be capable of providing a current of about 1A to about 10kA and/or delivering at least several hundred kilowatts of power.

The power supply may be used to provide either direct current or alternating current depending on the mode of operation of the reactor. In some embodiments, an alternating current is applied to the electrodes to breakdown the plasma. In some cases, the voltage required to breakdown the plasma in the confinement region may be reduced by more than about 10% compared to when direct current is used to strike the breakdown plasma. In the case of plasma breakdown using an ac signal, the power supply may provide an ac current or voltage signal having a frequency greater than about 1kHz, or in some cases greater than about 1 MHz.

In some configurations, an alternating current may be applied to both the electromagnet and the electrode, such as when the electromagnet is used to provide an axial magnetic field. In some cases, alternating signals may be applied to the electrodes and electromagnets, which have the same frequency but are out of phase. In some cases, the power supply may apply a current or voltage signal to the electrode or electromagnet of greater than about 500Hz or greater than about 1 kHz. In some cases, the electromagnet is operated at the same frequency as the alternating current applied to the electrodes so that the rotation of the particles can be maintained. In some cases, commercially available power supplies may be used to apply current or voltage signals to the electrodes or electromagnets of the reactor. Examples of suitable power suppliers include Advanced Energy Industries and (TDK-Lambda American Inc.

Sensor with a sensor element

While operating the reactor, various parameters may be monitored to control the rate of energy output, improve efficiency, prevent component failure, and the like. For example, the temperature of the reactor may be monitored to ensure that components of the reactor do not exceed a defined maximum temperature value. If the permanent magnet is too hot, it may demagnetize, and if the electrode or any other component is too hot, it may yield or melt. In some cases, the operation of the reactor requires relatively high temperatures. For example, some electron emitters must acquire sufficient thermal energy before releasing electrons into a confined region. Sensors may be used to monitor the temperature within the reactor, such as thermocouples, inferential imaging (inferential), and thermistors. In some cases, the temperature at a location within the reactor may be inferred by measuring the temperature at other locations within the reactor. For example, the temperature at the inner surface of the outer electrode may be inferred by monitoring the temperature at the outer surface of the outer electrode. In some cases, by measuring the temperature indirectly from an external location, a low cost temperature sensor, such as a silicon bandgap temperature sensor, may be used.

In some embodiments, the gas pressure within the reactor may be monitored. By monitoring the pressure in front of the electron emitters, as they are tightly focused on the confining walls, information about the electron density can be obtained. The controller may use pressure measurements from within the chamber to adjust the flow rate of the gaseous material into and out of the confinement region. In some embodiments, the rotational speed within the constrained region or annulus may be monitored using a camera that captures hundreds or thousands of images per second. In some cases, measuring the rotation of a substance within the reactor may be aided by the introduction of a substance that will fluoresce or have a detectable optical characteristic (e.g., argon or quantum dots). In some embodiments, the composition of gas within the confinement region can monitor fusion products (e.g.⁴He and³he) or a small amount of deuterium in the reactant gas. In some embodiments, the detection of fusion products and reactants can be performed using an in situ mass spectrometer (e.g., qRGA from Hiden analytical, which is capable of detecting small amounts of deuterium in a gas sample), spectrometer, or NMR sensor. In some embodiments, the reactor may be equipped with a Geiger counter to detect radiation levels.

Fig. 23a-c depict examples of how nuclear magnetic resonance sensing can be used to determine the composition of gaseous reactants in a concentric electrode embodiment. Fig. 23a depicts a reactor having an inner electrode 2320, an outer electrode 2310, and a substantially uniform and time-invariant magnetic field 2391 passing through a confinement region in the z-direction. The axially applied magnetic field may be used to align the nuclear spins of the rotating material and may be applied by a superconducting magnet as described elsewhere herein. In some cases, the axial magnetic field is greater than about 0.1 tesla, in some cases, the axial magnetic field is greater than about 0.5 tesla, and in some cases, the axial magnetic field through the confinement region is greater than about 2 tesla.

When detection is desired, the nuclear spins of the rotating substance within the confinement region are perturbed by applying a radio frequency pulse in the azimuthal direction. Figure 23b depicts how an azimuthally time varying magnetic field 2392 is generated by applying an alternating current in the z direction of the inner electrode. In some embodiments, the frequency of the alternating current through the center electrode is about 60Hz to 1MHz, and in some cases about 1MHz to about 1 GHz. After disturbing the alignment of the substance with the time-varying magnetic field, the detection coil as described in fig. 23c is then used to monitor the rate of nuclear spin realignment of the substance. The detection coil 2390 is substantially perpendicular to the long axis (z-axis) of the reactor and monitors the current through the coil due to the electromagnetic radiation absorbed and re-emitted by the rotating material. In some cases, detection coils similar to those used in medical nuclear magnetic resonance systems may be used.

Control system

Monitored parameters can be provided as inputs to a control system that operates the reactor in a manner that maintains system component integrity and supports fusion. The control system can control any and all parameters of the fusion reaction, and in some cases other operations, such as thermal energy harvesting or utilization processes, and conversion to electrical energy or other useful forms of energy. In certain embodiments, the control system maintains a balance between heat generation and heat extraction. Thus, for example, to maintain this preset and preselected balance, the control system may control the electrical energy applied to the electrodes of the reactor (e.g., by modulating the electrical pulses, e.g., extending or shortening the time period between each pulse and/or changing the voltage used to generate the plasma), changing the magnetic field (e.g., using an adjustable magnet in conjunction with a superconducting magnet), and changing the density of the reactants.

As discussed elsewhere herein, some parameters may be required to fall within a defined process window so that both conditions are met. In some cases, the control system receives information identifying the energy requirements and adjusts the process conditions accordingly. The control system may also have criteria that, when satisfied, initiate an auto shut-down procedure to prevent injury to the reactor or nearby operators. For example, if the temperature of the confinement walls exceeds a certain threshold or reaches a radiation threshold, the reactor may quench the fusion reaction. The control system may quench the reactor by, for example, grounding all electrodes, closing gas input valves, and/or introducing an inert gas species (e.g., nitrogen).

In some cases, the control system may provide closed loop feedback, such as that shown in fig. 24. Based on the measured input parameters from sensors 2460 and the desired energy output signal 2461, the control system 2462 may send control signals 2463 to adjust various parameter settings of the reactor 2464 as needed to control the energy output 2465 or meet other specifications. The input parameters used by the controller may include various parameters, temperature, pressure, flow rate, gas composition fraction (e.g., partial pressure), particle velocity, current discharge and voltage between the electrodes, and the like. In some cases, the control system utilizes historical data for one or more parameters. For example, while it may be important to know a particular temperature value, it may also be important to know the rate and/or magnitude of temperature fluctuations. Examples of reactor settings that may be adjusted by the controller include applied current, applied voltage, applied magnetic field strength (in the case of an electromagnet), and gas flow rate (e.g., hydrogen flow rate). Typically, the controller communicates control signals to the reactor components responsible for the relevant settings. For example, a control signal may be passed to the power supply to instruct the power supply to apply a specified voltage. In some cases, the settings may also be input parameters of the control system. For example, in determining what voltage should be applied, the controller may interpret the current and/or voltage currently applied to the electrodes. In some cases, the controller may utilize machine learning to refine its decision so that the reactor becomes more efficient over time. Against physical changes in the equipment (e.g., when components fail and are replaced) or anticipated energy requirements.

Certain operating characteristics of the reactor may be independently controlled. For example, the flow rate of the cooling fluid may be controlled using a system independent of the control system responsible for regulating the primary operational inputs of the reactor, such as current and gas flow rates. In another example, an electron emission module such as that depicted in fig. 21a may have an associated controller that receives the measured temperature of the electron emitter and determines what current should be applied to the filament to provide joule heating.

The control system described above may be implemented in the form of control logic using computer software in a modular or integrated manner. There are many possible ways of controlling operation. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand how to implement control functions using hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software.

In some cases, the control system may be implemented as software code, executed by a processor using any suitable computer language, such as, for example, Java, LabVIEW, MATLAB, C + +, or Python using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commands on a computer readable medium, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard drive or floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. In some cases, the control system may be tested and designed using an FPGA (field programmable gate array) and then manufactured by an ASIC process. In some cases, the controller may be a single chip capable of securely storing and executing control logic. Any such computer-readable medium may reside on or within a single computing device, and may be present on or within different computing devices within a system or network. For example, the control system may be implemented using one or more processors, PLCs, computers, processor-memory combinations, and variations and combinations of these. The control system may be a distributed control network, a control network, or other types of control systems known to those skilled in the art for controlling large plants and facilities, as well as individual devices, as well as combinations and variations of these.

Radiation shield

In some embodiments, for example when the reactor supports a neutron-free or substantially neutron-free reaction, the reactor may require little, if any, shielding to reduce radiation exposure. When neutron radiation is a concern, the reactor may be equipped with appropriate shielding. Neutrons readily pass through most materials, but the interactions are sufficient to cause biological damage. In some cases, the reactor may be placed in a shell that absorbs neutrons. In some cases, the containment wall of the reactor may include an outer layer for absorbing neutrons. In some cases, the barrier layer may be made of concrete, polyethylene, paraffin, wax, water, or other hydrocarbon material with a high water content. In some cases, the shielding layer may include lead or boron as a neutron absorber. For example, boron carbide may be used as a barrier layer, where concrete costs are prohibitive. In some embodiments, the ends of the reactor in the z-direction may include a material such as boron nitride, which is not only neutron absorbing, but also thermally and electrically insulating. In some cases, electron emitters (e.g., lanthanum hexaboride) serve the additional function of providing shielding from neutron (neurotic) radiation. In some cases, such as large reactors, tanks of water, oil or gravel may be placed on the reactor to provide effective shielding. The thickness of the shield depends in part on what material is used, the location of the reactor, the type of fusion reaction, and the size of the reactor. In some embodiments, the shielding layer is greater than about 10 centimeters, in some cases greater than about 100 centimeters, and in some cases greater than about 1 meter.

Replaceable component

Due to the erosive nature of plasma and fusion products within the reactor, the electrodes can be damaged, distorted, embrittled, etc. Under normal operating conditions, some components of the reactor may eventually fail and need to be replaced. In addition, components may be damaged or worn out more quickly when operating conditions exceed certain thresholds (e.g., high temperature, pressure, plasma potential, or reactant concentration). In the case of using hydrogen as a reactant, the electrode may suffer from hydrogen embrittlement over time. If the embrittled electrode is not replaced, the electrode can be converted to a powder. In some cases, the reactor may inadvertently operate outside of its normal operating conditions, resulting in increased wear or structural damage to one or more electrodes or other components. For example, if the cooling system fails, the temperature of the electrode may approach its melting temperature, causing the electrode to deform. In some cases, thermal stress may cause micro-fractures to occur on or within the electrodes. If the electrodes have an internal cooling system that breaks down to allow water vapor to enter the confined area, the reactor may experience a pressure spike.

A fusion reactor as described herein can be highly configurable and modular. In certain embodiments, one or more components may be replaced and/or interchanged. Some components are permanent and designed not to wear out during the life of the reactor, while some components are expected to be replaced after a certain number of operating cycles or run times. For each replaceable component, there may be a designated procedure for removal, processing, refurbishment, and/or replacement of the component. Further, there may be one or more indicators and field-implementable diagnostics that indicate and/or predict degradation of the component.

Examples of replaceable components include one or more electrodes in a reactor, fusion reactants, vessel fusion reactants (e.g., hydrogen tanks), and energy conversion devices associated with a reactor.

Examples of indicators that a component should be replaced include a decrease in the electrical conductivity of the electrode, the time the component has been in operation, and the optical properties of the component (e.g., changes in the surface of the component can be detected optically). Mechanical faults may be determined by visual inspection or, in some cases, by monitoring measured parameters such as temperature, pressure and electrical conductivity of the electrodes. In some cases, the control system contains logic for determining mechanical failure of the electrodes or other components.

In some cases, the conductivity and/or conductance of the electrode may decrease over time. Due to the volatility of the plasma, there may be an electrically insulating dielectric coating formed on the electrodes. If the conductivity and/or conductance of the electrodes decreases, the reactor may become less efficient and/or require excessive power. If no measures are taken to mitigate the declining electrical and/or thermal conductivity of the reactor, the reactor may become electrically and/or thermally hazardous. Although much of the discussion herein relates to determining the conductivity and/or conductance of an electrode, it should be understood that the conductivity may vary between different locations in the electrode. For example, the conductivity of the reaction-facing surface of the electrode may be much lower than the conductivity inside the electrode after a long run. As another example, the conductivity of the starting material in the electrode may remain largely unchanged during operation, but the dielectric film formed on the reaction-facing surface of the electrode may significantly reduce the overall conductance of the electrode. The resistivity and/or resistance may be determined to replace the conductivity and/or conductance.

Various techniques may be employed to monitor electrode conductivity and/or conductance, or to determine that electrode conductivity or conductance has reached a level that requires attention or replacement. In one example, using the geometry of the electrodes, the electrical conductivity of the electrodes can be determined by measuring the electrical resistance between two points on the electrode surface when the reactor is not in operation. This measurement may be performed manually during routine system checks, for example, by using a multimeter. In some cases, the reactor is provided with a measurement circuit that automatically measures the resistance of the electrodes between operating cycles. In some cases, the control system of the reactor may be arranged to automatically determine the conductance of the electrodes from the measured resistance. Another way in which the conductance of the electrodes can be determined is by performing a diagnostic cycle in which the gaseous reactants in the confinement region are replaced with another gas and a plasma is generated within the confinement region. For example, the hydrogen gas may be replaced with argon, neon, or nitrogen. The control system may then monitor the electrical characteristics of the plasma, measuring the voltage at the electrodes and the current through the electrodes. Based on the electrical properties of the argon plasma, the conductivity of the electrode can be determined. For example, the conductivity of each electrode may be determined by comparing the measured electrical behavior of the argon plasma (or another plasma) with the expected electrical behavior. In some cases, the expected electrical behavior of the plasma (e.g., an argon plasma) may be determined by simulation or by measuring the electrical behavior on a new reactor without a dielectric coating.

The reactor electrodes may specify a predetermined threshold of low conductivity or conductance values, which triggers repair or replacement of the electrodes. For example, if the conductivity of an electrode drops below about 80% of its expected value, the electrode may be replaced or treated to restore the conductivity to an appropriate level.

In some embodiments, a cleaning cycle is performed when the electrode conductivity or conductance drops below an acceptable level. For example, the cleaning cycle may include introducing a cleaning gas (e.g., argon) into the confinement region and operating the reactor to generate a plasma that removes some or all of the dielectric coating. In some cases, a weakly ionized plasma may be sufficient to remove the dielectric coating. In some cases, the argon gas may be fully ionized during the cleaning cycle. Depending on the chemistry of the degradation, a chemical recovery treatment may be employed. For example, if electrode degradation is caused by hydride formation or other forms of hydrogen-mediated reduction, the damaged electrode may be treated with an oxidizing agent (e.g., an oxygen-containing plasma).

In some cases, if the conductivity or conductance of the electrodes drops below a specified level (e.g., about 50% of their expected value), the reactor may be determined to be operating unsafe. This may indicate that a thick dielectric film has been formed and that the reactor will require a dangerous level of power from the power supply. In some cases, the control system or related safety system may shut down operation until the affected electrode is replaced or restored. In some cases, the control system of the reactor contains logic for determining mechanical failure of the electrodes or other components and then triggering an alarm or automatic shutdown of the reactor.

In some embodiments, one or more electrodes or magnets in the reactor include a protective or sacrificial layer. In some cases, the sacrificial layer is a sleeve (e.g., a sleeve forming an inner surface of the constraining wall) that is replaceable at predetermined intervals. In some embodiments, a metal component, such as an electrode or sleeve, may be removed to undergo a recovery process, such as an annealing process, to remove internal stresses that may have developed as a result of thermal cycling. In some cases, for example, when the component is subjected to hydrogen embrittlement, the component may be removed and the material of the component may be reworked to produce a new part. In some cases, the embrittled part (e.g., tantalum electrode) may be restored to a ductile condition by annealing under vacuum. For example, in some cases, the embrittled part may be recovered by annealing at about 1200 ℃ under vacuum.

The target material (fusion reactants) can eventually be consumed and need to be replaced. For example, some embodiments employ lanthanum hexaboride containing boron-11 as a reactant required for proton-boron-11 fusion reactions. Once exhausted, the material needs to be replaced. Lanthanum hexaboride can also become brittle and fail due to thermal cycling. Destruction or degradation of lanthanum hexaboride will reduce fusion reaction yield. In some cases, the control system may notify the operator of a power reduction corresponding to the target material being depleted or moving out of the confinement region. In some cases, the control system may alert an operator when a consumable material (e.g., lanthanum hexaboride) has reached a predetermined use limit and should be replaced.

Examples

The following non-limiting examples represent some implementations that may be practiced according to the broader principles described herein.

1.) negative electrode (external electrode)

The outer electrode, sometimes referred to as a "shield," comprises a cylindrical metal ring having a plurality of points of attachment for lanthanum hexaboride or other target material. The composition of the shield is typically a refractory metal, such as tantalum (Ta) or tungsten (W), due to the high thermal resistance of the refractory metal; however, certain embodiments of the reactor use lower temperature metals, such as alloy 316 stainless steel. These embodiments may include a liquid cooling circuit that prevents the shroud from reaching the critical melting temperature of the composite metal. As explained, the outer electrode may be a more negative electrode or a more positive electrode.

Electrical conductivity of

Plasma in the reactor is struck between the positive and negative electrodes by using power from an external power source. This event is mediated by the voltage on the two electrodes and the current flowing through the electrodes and the plasma. The voltage required to strike the plasma and initiate the fusion process can be directly related to the electrical conductivity of the two electrodes. As described above, a dielectric (electrically insulating) coating may build up on the negative electrode, thus affecting the conductivity of the electrode.

A field-implementable diagnosis for determining the conductivity of the outer electrode is a resistance measurement between two points using a digital multimeter. In some implementations, once the resistance is measured, its value is input into the QA software, which will indicate the conductivity and operating condition of the outer electrode.

A second diagnostic for determining conductivity would involve striking a glow discharge argon plasma in the reactor. This is done by the control software which will then monitor the electrical behavior (voltage and current) of the argon plasma. By automatic comparison with internal calibration, the control software can determine the conductivity of the electrode and send the data to the QA software.

If the QA software indicates that the conductivity is reduced by less than 80% of the standard conductivity rating of the composition metal, then the AR unit is deemed to be outside of the optimal operating state and enters a non-optimal operating state. If the conductivity drops below 50% of the standard rating, the AR unit is deemed to be in an unsafe operating state because it will draw too much power from the power source and provide a potential electrical and thermal hazard. If the conductivity is 0%, this indicates that a complete insulating layer has been formed on the negative electrode and the system is not operational.

Operation: and (5) normally continuing to operate.

Non-optimal operation: an argon cleaning cycle is run on the AR unit using the provided control software. This is repeated until the conductivity enters the "best-run" region. If the conductivity is not improved, the following "unsafe run" is performed.

And (4) unsafe operation: the outer electrode should be clean.

Structural integrity

The mechanical structure of the shield may be damaged, distorted or embrittled. This can occur for a number of different reasons.

Failure of the cooling system or improper operation of the cooling system may result in extreme temperatures within the reactor that exceed safe operating parameters. These extreme temperatures can lead to thermal shock causing micro-fractures on or within the shield. In addition, if these extreme temperatures approach the melting point of the shield composition material, the shield itself will begin to deform and melt.

A field-implementable diagnosis for detecting defects in structural integrity is a visual inspection prompted by an abnormal temperature alert from control software. The control software may monitor the temperature of several different components of the unit and check whether each component remains within safe operating parameters. If the temperature of any such component exceeds safe operating parameters, it may trigger a temperature indicator alarm. In extreme cases (e.g., extended duration of overheating components), the system may shut down itself and require mandatory visual inspection of the integrity of the shield. If the shield is damaged, it may be sent to a QA team for inspection and analysis.

2.) positive electrode (inner electrode)

The inner electrode may comprise a cylindrical metal disk and a hollow metal cylinder attached to a high voltage ceramic feedthrough on the backside of the chamber. These two components are called the "head" and the "rod". Due to the high thermal resistance of refractory metals, the composition of the center electrode tip is typically a refractory metal, such as tantalum (Ta) or tungsten (W); however, different embodiments of the reactor use lower temperature metals, such as alloy 316 stainless steel. The higher temperature of the center head will run longer and therefore less frequent replacement will be warranted. The center electrode rod is typically made of alloy 316 stainless steel because it does not experience the same extreme temperatures as the head.

In some embodiments, the central electrode rod is cooled with liquid water to prevent overheating. In embodiments utilizing a high temperature head, the head is attached to the rod by molybdenum (Mo) set screws. In embodiments utilizing a coldhead, the head is also water cooled and welded or brazed to the rod so that the cooling circuit is continuous.

Electrical conductivity of

As in the case of the outer electrode, the electrical conductivity of the inner electrode modulates the electrical behavior of the plasma. A change in electrical conductivity will result in a change in the voltage required to strike and sustain the plasma for the fusion reaction. As mentioned above, the volatility of the plasma and fusion reactions occurring inside the reactor can lead to the accumulation of the dielectric coating on the surface of the inner electrode, affecting its electrical conductivity.

The standard field-implementable diagnostics for determining the conductivity of the center electrode (with respect to the various operating conditions described above) are the same as for the inner electrode.

Structural integrity

The inner electrode has the same operational risk as the outer electrode (or shield) with respect to the structural integrity of the component. It can be damaged, distorted or embrittled; however, since there are liquid cooling channels inside the inner electrode, there are additional methods for fault detection in addition to thermally monitoring certain components by the control system.

If the temperature of the center electrode rod (or alternatively the temperature of the above-described liquid-cooled center electrode tip) approaches the melting temperature of the composition material, the outer surface of the rod (or tip) may rupture, allowing the combination of water vapor and liquid water to enter the vacuum chamber. This can occur due to failure or improper use of the cooling system and the occurrence of a sustained plasma arc on the central electrode rod (or head) itself. Once this occurs, the pressure will rise momentarily due to the advantage of the water vapour entering the chamber through the slit. The control system will detect this pressure rise and immediately shut down the system with a false failure, which ensures immediate and desired visual inspection.

3.) lanthanum hexaboride target

Lanthanum hexaboride, commonly known as LaB₆Is a refractory ceramic material that, due to its low work function, is used as an electron emitter in the scientific industry. In the reactor, LaB₆Attached to the negative electrode along the inner wall by evenly distributed attachment points. LaB₆Contains the solid boron fuel required for the fusion reaction and will need to be replaced once the fuel is exhausted.

Isotopic composition of boron

Boron found in nature has two major isotopes (atoms with the same number of protons and different numbers of neutrons),¹⁰b and¹¹B. the most abundant of these two isotopes is¹¹B, since 80% of all boron is present in this form. Since this is also the isotope required for the fusion reaction to occur, knowledge of LaB may be required₆The relative concentration of that particular isotope present in the fuel. There are various methods for detecting the concentration, including inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and the like.

In some embodiments, there is no LaB-capable measurement present₆Because these are techniques that require the sample to be sent to a third party analytical diagnostic laboratory.

Structural integrity

Due to the compoundIs very brittle and is very sensitive to thermal stresses. Volatile reactions occurring within the reactor and the rapid heating and cooling rates present in various components such as the center electrode and the shield can lead to LaB₆The structural integrity of the cable is broken. It has been observed that in several embodiments of the reactor, LaB₆The fuel will tend to break over time, which warrants replacement.

For determining LaB₆One field-achievable diagnosis of the structural integrity of the fuel (and its lack) is through visual inspection. There are some indicators provided by the control software that ensure that the LaB is required₆Visual inspection was performed. Because of the fusion reaction in LaB₆Positions occur so the full output power is extracted from these positions (as measured by the control software). If the steady state power output of the reactor drops by more than 20%, a LaB may be indicated₆A problem with the chip occurs and a power indicator alarm is triggered on the software. This type of alarm will ensure that the LaB is required₆The sheet was visually inspected.

Energy conversion hardware

Generally, the reactor operates in a mode that requires plasma and/or generates plasma, and when plasma is present, it produces radiant energy.

In some cases, the energy conversion device converts electromagnetic radiation from the reactor into electrical energy (e.g., a heat engine), in some cases, the energy conversion device converts the kinetic energy of charged reaction products (e.g., α particles) or ionized fusion reactants (e.g., protons), in some cases, the energy conversion device converts the kinetic energy of the charged reaction products (e.g., α particles) or ionized fusion reactants (e.g., protons) into electrical energy.

Various energy conversion devices may be used to convert thermal energy generated by the reactor into mechanical and/or electrical energy. For example, a thermoelectric generator may be thermally coupled to the reactor to generate electrical energy. The thermoelectric generator may be thermally coupled to the reactor as follows: by e.g. placing on a confining wall of the reactor or having heat energy transferred from the reactor via heat transfer means such as heat pipes. In another example, the reactor may convert thermal energy into mechanical energy via a heat engine (e.g., moving a piston or rotating a crankshaft). In some embodiments, the reactor is equipped with a stirling engine. In some embodiments, the reactor may be equipped with a heat engine, such as one using a rankine cycle, in which the working fluid undergoes a cyclical phase change. If electrical energy is required, the heat engine may be provided with an electrical generator which converts, for example, a rotating crankshaft or a wobble piston into electrical energy.

Some energy conversion devices may convert electromagnetic radiation or radiant energy generated by a reactor into electrical energy. For example, the reactor may have photovoltaic cells at either end of the confinement region to convert radiant energy into electrical energy. In some cases, the reactor may include a transparent barrier layer to provide thermal protection and/or optics to concentrate radiant energy onto the photovoltaic cells. In some cases, the photovoltaic cell may have a tuned band gap corresponding to a narrow band wavelength of radiant energy (e.g., corresponding to hydrogen) emitted from the reactor.

The reactor may also be provided with a component that converts the kinetic energy of the charged particles emitted from the reactor into electrical energy, for example, positively charged particles (e.g., α particles) may be forced to travel through a reverse electric field created by one or more electrodes that slow their travel.

In some cases, a reactor may use a single energy conversion device (or energy conversion module) to convert energy generated by the reactor into mechanical and/or electrical energy. In some embodiments, the reactor may use a plurality of energy conversion devices (or energy conversion modules) to convert the energy produced by the reactor into mechanical and/or electrical energy. Since the reactor may generate various forms of energy, different types of energy conversion devices may be combined to increase the total mechanical and/or electrical energy generated. In some cases, the addition of the second energy conversion device may not reduce the energy output of the first energy conversion device, as the energy conversion device converts a different form of energy produced by the reactor. For example, in some embodiments, the reactor may generate electrical energy from both photovoltaic cells that convert radiant energy and thermoelectric generators that convert thermal energy. In this embodiment, the presence of the photovoltaic cell may not reduce the electrical energy produced by the thermoelectric generator, and vice versa. In some embodiments, the reactor may be equipped with multiple energy conversion devices that convert the same type of energy produced by the reactor. For example, in some cases, a reactor may be equipped with a stirling engine and a thermoelectric generator, both of which utilize thermal energy. In this embodiment, the thermoelectric generator may simply capture thermal energy that is not converted to mechanical and/or electrical energy by the stirling engine. In general, any combination of energy conversion devices or modules described herein may be used to generate mechanical and/or electrical energy from a reactor.

Outer casing

Although not depicted, the reactor may include an enclosure that separates the containment region from the surrounding environment. In some cases, the dimensions of the enclosure are controlled in part by the outer dimensions of the constraining walls. In some embodiments, the constraining wall defines a boundary of the r-direction enclosure, and the constraining region is isolated from the external environment using flanges on both ends of the constraining wall in the z-direction. In some embodiments, the entire system is placed in an enclosure, the system including a control system, a power source, a magnet, and an energy conversion device. The material selected for the housing may depend on the intended purpose of the housing. For example, an enclosure may be required to provide biological shielding, thermal isolation, and/or to enable low pressure operating conditions. In some cases, the housing may have a layered structure, where each layer provides a different function. For example, the housing may include a hydrocarbon material and a ceramic layer for biological shielding to provide thermal insulation. In some cases, more than one housing may be used. For example, a first enclosure may include a flange that seals the confinement region in the z-direction, creating a vacuum chamber, while a second, outer enclosure surrounds the entire reactor. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will know and appreciate the manner and/or method of implementing a housing that meets the needs of a reactor application.

Process conditions

Multistage operation and/or reaction

In some cases, the energy output or efficiency of the reactor is improved when operating in multiple stages. In some cases, the reactor may have one or more preparatory stages that prepare the conditions for the fusion reactions within the reactor. For example, preliminary stages in a multi-stage process may be used to increase the temperature of the electron emitters, cool the confinement walls, generate plasma in the confinement region, or change the gas pressure in the confinement region. FIG. 25 depicts an example of a multi-stage process flow that may be used to operate a reactor. In a first operation 2501, the electron emitters are heated until they reach a prescribed temperature for emitting electrons. After heating the electron emitter in 2501, an alternating current is applied between the electrodes of the reactor to strike the weakly ionized plasma.

Immediately after the plasma is initiated in the confinement region, the reactor can transition to a phase for rotating the charged particles in the reactor and maintaining the fusion reaction. In some lorentz rotors, this may mean applying a direct current to the electrodes when applying a uniform magnetic field. Alternatively, in embodiments where an alternating magnetic field is applied in the z-direction of the reactor, this may mean applying an alternating current to the electrodes at the same frequency as the magnetic field oscillations. In some cases, an alternating magnetic field is applied by applying an alternating current to an electromagnet (e.g., a superconducting magnet) or physically moving a permanent magnet (e.g., by having a rotor with magnetic properties with alternating magnetic orientations on either side of a confinement region). In some cases, the rotation of neutrals and charged particles is maintained in the same direction by alternating electric and magnetic fields at the same frequency. For example, in some cases, both the electric and magnetic fields may oscillate at a frequency between about 0.1Hz to 10Hz, in some cases about 10Hz to about 1kHz, and in some cases greater than 1 kHz.

In a wave particle embodiment, an electrode charge sequence or drive signal may be applied to the electrodes bordering the confinement region to initiate rotation. For example, the drive signal may start at a low frequency, e.g., about 60Hz, and then ramp up to a higher frequency, e.g., about 10 MHz. In some cases, the reactor may include a similar multi-stage process for terminating fusion reactions. In some cases, the reactor may have an idle operational phase that occurs between the cessation of the fusion reaction and the subsequent resumption. The parameters may be closely monitored during reactor operation. In a reactor utilizing Lorentz forces to rotate electrically charged species, the current density in the annular space near the confinement region or confinement wall may be about 150A/m²To about 10kA/m²E.g. about 150A/m²To about 9kA/m². In some cases, the current density near the confinement wall may be about 150A/m²To about 700kA/m²And in some cases about 400A/m²To about 6000kA/m². In some cases, the reactor is operated to maintain a sufficient electric field near the confining wall. For example, in some cases, the electric field is greater than about 25V/m, in some cases greater than about 40V/m, and in some cases greater than about 30V/m.

In some multi-stage operations, the reactor may periodically change the direction of charged particle rotation. In some cases, by changing the direction of charged particle rotation, the collision rate between two rotating fusion reactants can be increased. In some cases, the direction of rotation can be alternated to increase or control the fusion rate in the reactor. In some embodiments, by alternating the direction of rotation, the rate of fusion events on the constraining wall can be reduced due to fusion events that occur within the annular space but not on the constraining surface. This may be beneficial, for example, to reduce the amount of heat given to the confinement walls if the confinement walls become too hot. In the case of a lorentz rotor, the direction of rotation can be alternated by alternating applied electric and/or magnetic fields. For example, if the magnetic field alternates while the electric field remains constant, the lorentz forces on the charged particles will also alternate directions. In some cases, the applied electric field and/or the applied magnetic field alternates at a frequency between about 0.1Hz to about 10Hz, in some cases about 10Hz to about 1kHz, and in some cases greater than about 1 kHz. This can have the effect of concentrating electrons in an electron rich region, rotating particles in close proximity, and in some cases, increasing the number of fusion reactions.

Gas conditions

Where a gas (e.g., hydrogen or helium reactant gas) is introduced into the confinement region, it may be beneficial for the reactant gas to have a certain purity. In some cases, impurities in the reaction gas volume can reduce the rate of polymerization and the total energy output. In the case where the reactant gases are readily available in pure form, the purity of the reactant gases is at least about 99.95 volume percent or at least about 99.999 volume percent. This means that less than 10vpm (per million volumes) of impurities are present in the cylinder.

In some cases, deuterium, a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen, may be found within the hydrogen reactant gas. For example, deuterium may be present in impurities in the hydrogen tank, and thus, when present in sufficient amounts in the reaction gas, there is a potential hazard. If too much deuterium is present in the fuel, then proton-boron removal may occur within the reactor¹¹And out of fusion reactions. In some cases, these other reactions may emit radioactive byproducts. To monitor the amount of deuterium in the reaction gases, the reactor may be equipped with sensors, for exampleSuch as qRGA from a Hiden Analytical mass spectrometer, is used to monitor the amount of deuterium in the hydrogen reactant gas.

Prior to ignition, the reactor may contain a mole fraction of ions to neutrals approaching 0%. After striking the plasma, the reactor may be operated such that the mole fraction of ions to neutrals in the spinning gas species is about 1:1000 to about 1: 1000000. In some cases, the mole fraction of ions to neutrals in the reactant gas may vary depending on the particular stage of the multi-stage process flow. For example, in the process flow of fig. 25, after the plasma is initiated in stage 2502, the ion to neutral mole fraction of the gas may be higher than when the reactor is operated at steady state in the step in stage 2503.

As described elsewhere, the reactor may be equipped with gas inlet and outlet valves. In principle, the flow through the gas inlet valve and/or the gas outlet valve may be controlled to maintain a desired gas composition or gas pressure within the confinement region. In some cases, the volume of gas in the confinement region may be replaced at a rate of less than about once per minute or about once per hour. In many embodiments, the gas valve may be sealed such that no fluid flows during reactor operation.

In some cases, the reactant gas is maintained at a standard temperature and pressure prior to generating the plasma in the confinement region. In some cases, such as when a vacuum enclosure is used, a vacuum pump may be used to reduce the pressure to less than about 1 x 10 prior to striking the plasma in the confinement region^-2Torr, and in some cases less than about 1 x 10^-6And (4) supporting. In some cases, to increase the density of neutrals, the reactant gas supply line may increase the pressure within the reactor to greater than about 0.1 torr, and in some cases greater than about 10 torr, prior to striking the plasma in the confinement region or during reactor operation. During reactor operation, particles may experience centripetal accelerations on the order of billions of times the gravitational acceleration on the earth's surface. In some cases, the gas pressure and/or density along the confinement walls may be monitored during reactor operation. If the pressure induced by the rotating substance is insufficient near the confining wall, electrons are enrichedThe region may diffuse further into the confined region and not provide the desired electron shielding effect. In some cases, the air pressure near the confining wall may be monitored in real time. The temperature of the gas may be approximately room temperature prior to initiating the plasma, and in some cases the gas is initially heated. In some cases, the gas is heated to greater than about 1800 ℃, and in some cases, the gas is heated to greater than about 2200 ℃. During steady state operation of the reactor, the gas temperature may be heated such that the gas in the confinement region is from about 400 ℃ to about 800 ℃, and in some cases, from about 900 ℃ to about 1500 ℃.

As discussed elsewhere, the reactant gases may be delivered to the reactor by various mechanisms. In the case where an inlet valve is used, the gaseous reactants may be delivered from a gas tank or a pressurized tank. In some embodiments, the reactant gas (e.g., hydrogen gas) may be delivered into the confinement region by out-diffusion from the confinement walls or a hydrogen-absorbing material (e.g., titanium or palladium).

Operating conditions to reduce coulomb barrier

As described elsewhere herein, the fusion rate per unit time per volume can be expressed as

dN/dT＝n1n2σν

Where n1 and n2 are the densities of the respective reactants, σ is the fusion cross-section at a particular energy, and ν is the relative velocity between the two interacting species. The product (σ ν) can be increased by reducing the coulomb barrier. In some cases, the fusion cross-section can be about 10^-30cm²To about 10^-48cm²And in some cases, about 10^-28cm²To about 10^-24cm². In some cases, the relative velocity is 10⁴m/s to 10⁶m/s, in some cases, is about 10³m/s to about 10⁴m/s. In some cases, reducing the coulomb barrier can result in a reaction rate along the confinement wall of about 10 per cubic centimeter per second¹⁷To about 10²²And (4) secondary fusion reaction.

As discussed elsewhere, electron-rich regions may be formed near the confinement walls to provide a shielding effect between the collision nuclei. In some cases, an electron emitter may be used to provide free electrons to the region. The emitters may be energized optically (e.g., using a laser), by frictional heating of the rotating particles, and/or by joule heating.

In the electron rich region, the density of electrons may be about 10¹⁰cm^-3To about 10²³cm^-3On the order of magnitude, and in some cases, the density of electrons in this region is about 10²³cm^-3Magnitude. In some embodiments, the density of neutrals in the electron rich region may be about 10¹⁶cm^-3To about 10¹⁸cm^-3And, in some cases, a neutral density within the confinement region of about 10²⁰cm^-3Magnitude. In the electron rich region, it can be found that the density of positive ions is much lower than that of neutrals. In some cases, the density of positive ions is about 10¹⁵cm^-3To about 10¹⁶cm^-3. In some cases, the ratio of electrons to positive ions in the electron-rich region is about 10⁶1 to about 10⁸:1。

The radial thickness of the electron-rich region can be characterized as the region where the majority of the electron gradient exists. In some cases, the electron rich region is from about 50nm to about 50 μm, and in some cases, the electron rich region is from about 500nm to about 1.5 μm.

A strong electric field may be present in an electron rich region, for example, about 1 μm from the confining wall. In some cases, the electric field within the electron rich region (or confinement region) is greater than 10⁶V/m, and in some cases, an electric field greater than about 10⁸V/m. In some cases, the temperature of the electrons in this region is from about 10000K to about 50000K, in some cases from about 15000K to about 40000K.

In some cases, if one parameter is constrained by physical limitations, that parameter may eventually become a drive parameter that affects other parameters in the electron-rich region. For example, the Lawson criterion relates to parameter balancing.

In some cases, the parameters of the electron-rich region may depend in part on the fusion reaction of the target. For example, at p +¹¹The parameter ranges in the B reaction are different from those in the a D + D reactionThe same is true.

Another method of increasing the probability of fusion events is by aligning the spins of the fusion reactants. The nuclear force has a spin-dependent component. The coulomb barrier is reduced when the spin is aligned between two nuclei (e.g., between deuterium and deuterium nuclei). The nuclear magnetic moment plays a role in quantum tunneling. Specifically, when the magnetic moments of two nuclei are parallel, an attractive force is generated between the two nuclei. As a result, the total potential barrier between two nuclei with parallel magnetic moments is reduced and tunneling events are more likely to occur. When the two nuclei have antiparallel magnetic moments, the situation is reversed, the potential barrier increases, and tunneling is less likely to occur. When the magnetic moment of a particular type of core is positive, the core tends to align its magnetic moment in the direction of the applied magnetic field. Conversely, when the magnetic moment is negative, the core tends to align antiparallel to the applied field. Most nuclei, including most nuclei of interest as potential fusion reactants, have positive magnetic moments (p, D, T,⁶Li、⁷Li and¹¹b all have a positive magnetic moment;³he and¹⁵n has a negative magnetic moment). In some embodiments, the magnetic field is provided such that at each point within the device where the magnetic field is present, the magnetic moments are aligned in substantially the same direction. This results in a reduction of the total potential energy barrier between the nuclei when the first and second working materials have a nuclear magnetic moment that is both positive or both negative. This is believed to result in increased tunneling rates and greater incidence of fusion reactions. This effect may also be referred to as spin polarization or magnetic dipole-dipole interaction. Furthermore, the gyration of the nuclei around the magnetic field lines also helps to determine the total angular momentum of the nuclei. Thus, the coulomb barrier is further reduced when the cyclotron motion of the atomic nucleus generates additional angular momentum in the same direction as the polarization of the nuclear magnetic moment.

In some cases, by applying a magnetic field in the range of 1-20T, the fusion reactants in the confinement region and along the confinement walls (e.g.,¹h and¹¹B) can be aligned. In the case where a magnetic field is used to provide Lorentz force, the magnetic field can also align the spin states of the fusion reactants. Reduced library through, for example, electron shielding and spin polarization (achieved by strong magnetic fields acting on the reactant nuclei)The combination of the potential difference potential can produce a significant increase in fusion rate. The electrostatic attraction between the two nuclei includes a spin-dependent term that becomes dominant at short distances (e.g., less than 1 fm).

Applications of

Fusion reactors as described herein have a rich range of applications that can address many social issues, such as dependence on fossil fuels. In some cases, the use of fusion reactors may make energy intensive applications feasible and/or practical that are not feasible or practical in conventional methods of power generation. Some applications of fusion reactors will now be briefly discussed.

In some cases, fusion reactors may be used to retrofit fossil fuel power plants, such as those that burn coal, natural gas, or oil to produce electricity. In some cases, fusion reactors described herein may be used to retrofit fission power plants. In some cases, when retrofitting a power plant, only the portion of the power plant that generates energy may need to be replaced or upgraded. This makes the power plant retrofit simple and cost effective, as turbines, generators, cooling towers, connections to the distribution grid and other infrastructure can be reused. For example, a coal-fired power plant can be retrofitted by replacing the coal-fired boiler with a fusion boiler utilizing the reactor described herein. Similarly, a fission power plant can be retrofitted by replacing the control rods and uranium fuel with a fusion reactor as described herein.

In some cases, the fusion reactor has a modular design employing a plurality of smaller reactors. By having multiple reactors, the power output of the plant can be adjusted to meet energy requirements by varying the number of reactors in operation. Additionally, if a single reactor can be repaired or replaced while other reactors remain operational, the total power output of the plant may not be significantly affected.

In some cases, fusion reactors can be used as heating interfaces for industrial processes such as fiberglass manufacturing. In some cases, the reactor is configured to act as a heat source for a steam generator (e.g., a steam generator for steam cleaning or metal cutting). In some cases, the reactor is used as a source of helium, where helium is produced as a result of fusion reactions (e.g., when the reactor is undergoing proton-boron-11 fusion). In some cases, the reactor may be used as part of a water heater, such as a domestic water heater. For example, the reactor may be placed within a water tank or may be thermally coupled to the water tank such that heat emitted from the reactor is used to heat water. In some cases, fusion based water heaters can be paired with water radiators to provide indoor heating.

In some cases, fusion reactors are used for transport applications. For example, fusion reactors can be used to power automobiles, airplanes, trains, and ships. For example, an automobile may be equipped with a reactor having one or more energy conversion modules configured to generate electrical and/or mechanical energy. In an electric vehicle, the electrical energy produced by the reactor may be used to charge a battery or capacitor that is used to provide power to the motor. For example, the reactor may be operated to charge an automotive battery whenever the state of charge of the battery falls below a certain threshold. In some cases, it is produced, for example, by a mechanical energy stirling engine, used to provide driving power for an automobile. In some cases, fusion reactors may be used to power outer space vehicles. Some designs for outer space vehicles use fission reactors, such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators. This design suffers from the use and production of radioisotopes. They also need to carry relatively large amounts of radioactive fuel. Since the reactors described herein may be neutronic or substantially neutronic, these reactors may be more preferred for spacecraft designed to be manned. In addition, the energy density of fusion reactants used in the reactors described herein is significantly higher than the fuel required for fission or chemical reactions to produce the same energy.

Claim elements that do not recite "means" or "steps" are not intended to be limited to "means plus function" or "step plus function" forms. (see 35USC § 112 (f)). Applicants intend that only claim elements reciting "means" or "steps" be construed under 35u.s.c. § 112(f) or according to 35u.s.c. § 112 (f).

The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Water heater

As described herein, one application of a reactor is to provide heat to water or other liquids in a heater. For convenience, the following description will be referred to as a "water heater". Conventional water heaters are often used in cold climates and can be expensive due to the large amount of gas or electrical energy required to heat the water. By utilizing the energy released in the fusion reaction, the operating costs of a fusion based heating system can be significantly lower than those required by conventional water heaters, as opposed to using gas or electricity. In certain embodiments, fusion reactors are used as heat sources for compact water heaters, such as those commonly used in homes and small businesses. Although a compact water heater unit is described, one can easily think of how to scale up the water heater unit for larger applications, such as providing hot water for commercial buildings, residential apartment buildings, building complexes, blocks, villages, towns or cities.

As explained, thermal energy can be produced by various reactions described herein, including by the non-neutron fusion reaction described in the following equation: p +¹¹B→3⁴He +8.7 MeV. Because of the high energy density of the fuel used for the reactions described herein, the volume of fuel required by a water heater to heat water in conventional applications may be extremely small. Furthermore, if the volume/mass of fuel provided is comparable to that used by conventional heaters, there is no need to replace the fuel for very long periods of time. In some cases, the water heater may contain a small tank of hydrogen gas and ceramic blocks of lanthanum hexaboride, ammonia borane, or other boron-11 source. When used with water supplied to a conventional water heater, this quantity of fuel may heat approximately 215000 liters of water. Furthermore, since fusion-based water heaters do not use fossil fuels and therefore do not produce carbon dioxide or pollutants, the new water heater is a "green" device.

Heat from the reactor may be supplied to the feedwater by a number of different heat transfer mechanisms. While many employ conduction and/or convection, some employ radiation. Convection may be forced or natural, or a combination thereof. Typically, the water to be heated is contacted with thermal energy generated by a fusion reactor. In certain embodiments, the reactor is fully or partially immersed in a tank or other vessel containing water. In other cases, the jacket or coil containing the flowing water completely or partially surrounds the reactor exterior. Several examples will now be presented.

Fig. 26a and 26b depict isometric and cross-sectional views of an embodiment of a trough water heater 2660. In this embodiment, the tank may surround the reactor, or a substantial portion of the reactor may be in contact with a water bath provided in the tank, such that the reactor is thermally coupled to the tank, and such that heat generated in the reactor is used to heat water in the tank by conduction and/or convection. Although the water heater 2660 is described as having a reactor configured as the first embodiment described above (having an axial magnetic field and shown, for example, in fig. 1a-c and 11 a-b), other reactors described herein may be used in a similar manner. For example, the water heater may be equipped with a reverse electric polarity reactor (fig. 5a-d), a wave particle reactor (fig. 7a-b), or a reverse field reactor (fig. 6 a-d). The water heater has a tank 2662, wherein the tank 2662 is used for heating and storing water. The tank and reactor may be supported by a support 2684 (e.g., an aluminum support) that holds the tank and reactor in a fixed position, such as a horizontal or vertical orientation. In addition, the trough may have a layer of insulation to reduce the amount of heat lost to the surrounding environment. The trough 2662 has an inlet port 2664 that provides cold water to the trough, and an outlet port 2666 through which hot water exits the trough. The tank may also have one or more drain ports 2665 so that the tank may be drained to allow the tank to be shipped or serviced. The slot may have a cylindrical shape as shown; however, this need not be the case. Typically, the tank is made of materials conventionally used in water heaters, such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and other metals and metal alloys. The wall thickness of the trough can vary depending on, for example, the size of the water heater and its intended use (e.g., whether it is a residential or industrial water heater). In some cases, the wall thickness of the groove may be about 0.125 inches to about 1 inch. In some cases, the tank may be equipped with an agitator, such as a small turbine that circulates the fluid within the tank.

The reactor is within the interior volume of the cell. When the water heater is running and fusion takes place inside the reactor, the containment walls of the reactor are rapidly heated, causing the water in the tank to also be heated. After a set time or after reaching a specified temperature, the water is heated and released from the tank for consumption. In some cases, water may be continuously circulated through the tank, and the tank may be configured to maintain the temperature of the water in the tank within a defined range. In some embodiments, the trough 2662 is configured to hold about 100 liters to about 1000 liters of water, or about 10 liters to 100 liters of water, or about 1 liter to about 10 liters of water.

The reactor has an outer electrode 2610 and an inner electrode 2620 defining an annular confinement region. In some embodiments, the length (z-direction) of the restraint region is about 6 inches to about 1 foot, although the restraint region can be longer, for example, the length of the restraint region can be greater than about 2 feet. A target material, such as lanthanum hexaboride, is placed within the confinement region and may be attached to the outer electrode. In some cases, a target material, such as lanthanum hexaboride, is placed as a powder in the confinement region. If powder is used as the target material, the reactor can be held in a horizontal orientation (as depicted in fig. 26a and 26 b) to prevent the powder from moving out of the confinement region. In some cases, the inner and outer electrodes may be made of stainless steel. In some cases, when one electrode extends beyond the other electrode, the electrodes may be coated with an electrically insulating ceramic material, such as alumina. Typically, the support structure of the electrodes (and in some cases the reactor) may be made of an electrically insulating material, such as alumina, to prevent possible short circuits between the electrodes. For example, the ceramic stopper 2681 may be used to electrically separate a component having a high potential, such as an inner electrode, from a grounded component, such as an outer electrode. In some cases, a protective housing 2682 (e.g., made of a plastic material) may be used for a support structure that surrounds the high voltage components and prevents arcing to electrical ground. In addition, the reactor is sealed so that water in the trough does not penetrate into the containment area. For example, the restraining area may have a flange or cover at either end. In some cases, the reactor may be sealed using threaded fittings, epoxy, seals, and other well-known means.

The permanent magnets 2668 provide a substantially axial magnetic field within the reactor. The permanent magnets may be made of rare earth magnets, as discussed elsewhere herein. To prevent the magnets from physically contacting each other, they may be separated by a spacer 2670. In some cases, the thickness of the ring magnets in the axial direction is about 0.5 inches to about 1.5 inches, and the spacing between the ring magnets is about 0.5 inches to 1.5 inches. The gasket is typically made of a thermally conductive material such as aluminum. In some cases, the shims may have a mesh or fin-like structure that helps to conduct heat away from the reactor and into the water in the tank. By immersion in water in the tank, the magnet is cooled and kept below its demagnetization temperature. In some cases, the permanent magnets may have a protective covering, such as an aluminum or plastic covering, that provides a thermal barrier or protection for the outer electrodes from corrosion. Although the reactor is described as being configured with a ring magnet, other configurations of permanent or electromagnets (e.g., as described in fig. 10-18) may be used to generate a magnetic field within the confined area of the reactor.

The reactant gas inlet valve 2672 is used to introduce reactant gases such as hydrogen into the confinement region of the reactor. The inlet valve 2672 may have a mass flow controller that can carefully regulate the amount of hydrogen provided to the reactor. In some cases, the inlet valve may be connected to a tank of compressed reaction gas. In some cases, the reactant gas canister may be a disposable canister that is easily replaced by the end user. In some cases, the inlet valve may be connected to a refillable hydrogen storage device, such as a HYDROSTICK solid-state hydrogen cartridge manufactured by horizons Fuel Cell Technologies. In some cases, a solid fuel such as ammonia borane is added to the confinement region, which releases hydrogen upon heating. An outlet valve 2674 may be connected to a pump to move gaseous species and fusion products out of the confinement region. In some cases, a mechanical pump or a diffusion pump may be used to create a high vacuum within the confinement region prior to introducing the reactant gases into the confinement region. This pumping process may remove gaseous impurities that may cause the reactor to have unpredictable behavior. In some cases, a reactor (e.g., a reactor with a stainless steel housing) may undergo a baking process during manufacture so that the reactor may maintain a high vacuum. Some reactors may be configured such that they are drawn to a high vacuum each time the reactor is opened and the confined area is exposed to ambient air. In some cases, a pump capable of generating a high vacuum (e.g., less than 1E-8 Torr) may be included as part of the water heater unit. In some cases, the water heater may have a small mechanical pump suitable for regulating the pressure of the reaction gas, but not for generating the high vacuum required for removing impurities. When the reactor does not have a high vacuum pump system, it may not be possible for an end user to service it. In some embodiments, the water heater is subjected to a high vacuum pumping process during manufacture to remove gaseous impurities. When maintenance is required (e.g., replacement of consumed target material), the reactor may then be returned to the manufacturing facility where it is serviced and subjected to a high vacuum pumping process to remove gaseous impurities before being returned to the end user. In some cases, the impurities of the reactant gases in the confinement region may be reduced by flushing (flushing) the reactor with the reactant gases. To control the flow of gases in the reactor, a pressure gauge 2676 may be used to monitor the pressure within the confinement region. In some cases, the control system receives measurements from a pressure gauge and adjusts the pressure within the confined area by operating the inlet and outlet valves.

The described embodiments are configured with a cooling circuit for removing heat from the inner electrode. In various embodiments, the cooling circuit is a heat exchanger in which the working fluid passes from the interior of a conduit located within or in close proximity to a component (feature). Although the tank may be much larger than the reactor and the water within the tank may not need to be agitated, the volume of the cooling circuit is typically small compared to the size of the reactor and the fluid within the cooling circuit is passively or actively driven through the circuit. By driving the working fluid through the cooling circuit, a large temperature difference can be maintained between the high temperature component (in this case the inner electrode) and the working fluid, which allows the cooling circuit to remove heat from the reactor even though the cooling circuit is small in volume compared to the reactor. Fluid is provided to the circuit through inlet port 2678 and passes through the inner electrode before being removed through outlet port 2680. As the fluid passes through the circuit, the fluid absorbs and carries away heat. Typically, water is used for the cooling circuit, although other working fluids may be used as discussed elsewhere herein. In some cases, the working fluid of the cooling circuit is driven by positive pressure, such as by a pump connected to (be attached to) inlet port 2678. In some cases, the working fluid of the cooling circuit is driven by a negative pressure, e.g., by a pump of the outlet port 2680. In some embodiments, the water heater has a second tank (e.g., within the protective housing 2682) that is maintained at a lower temperature than the first tank for storing water for cooling the inner electrode. After a certain time of operation, during which the water in the second tank sees an increase in temperature, the water in the second tank can be transferred to the first tank for further heating. In this case, the water in the second tank can then be refilled by a fresh supply of cold water. In some configurations, the inlet and outlet ports of the cooling circuit of the inner electrode are configured to both draw water from and deliver water to the tank, which is heated by the outer electrode.

In certain embodiments, when operating the water heater, the reactor enters a preheat phase of operation in which high voltage and current are used to drive the reactant gases into rotation and initiate the fusion reaction. The power required during this preheating phase may depend on the size of the reactor and the gas pressure within the confinement region. After this initial phase, the positive feedback from the fusion reaction significantly reduces the power requirements of the plant. Some water heaters utilize a power source capable of delivering about 5kW to about 10kW of electrical power to the electrodes. In some embodiments, the power heater can initiate the fusion reaction with less than 1kW of power applied to the electrodes. In some cases, the water heater receives power through a conventional power outlet (e.g., an industrial outlet or a multi-phase outlet commonly used in household appliances). In some cases, the water heater has a module for converting the energy produced by the fusion reaction into electrical energy, which can be stored in an energy storage device. In such a configuration, the water heater may be a stand-alone device that does not require connection to a gas line or electrical wiring.

As described above, the energy density of the fusion fuel reaction is extremely high. For example, in p-¹¹In the B reaction, only about 8E-3mg of boron-11 and 7E-3mL of hydrogen (at standard temperature and pressure) are required to heat about 2 liters of water from about 20 ℃ to about 100 ℃. Heating about 144 liters of water (a typical volume for a conventional water heater) in the same manner may require only about 1mg of boron-11 and about 1mL of hydrogen. In some embodiments, the reactor of the water heater may be configured to deliver greater than about 5kW of power, in some cases, greater than about 10kW of power, and in some cases (e.g., industrial applications), greater than about 50kW of power. The high power output provided by fusion reactors allows the water to be heated very rapidly. For example, the water heater is configured to heat the water in the tank from about 20 ℃ to about 100 ℃ in less than about 2 minutes.

In some configurations, the water heater is configured with a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the water in the tank and a controller configured to maintain the temperature of the water within a range, such as about 45 ℃ to about 60 ℃. For example, the water heater may be configured to start the reactor whenever the temperature of the water in the tank drops below a minimum temperature, and to terminate the operation of the reactor when the temperature reaches a maximum temperature. In some cases, the controller may adjust the electrical power provided to the reactor electrodes based on the temperature and/or flow rate of the water entering the tank. In some cases, the end user may adjust the desired temperature range of the water supplied by the water heater through a knob adjustment on the water heater or through an application on the mobile device for controlling the operation of the water heater.

In some embodiments, the reactor is designed as a modular unit so that the same reactor can be used for various water heating applications. For example, a large industrial water heater may be configured with multiple reactors, each of which individually may be adapted to provide hot water to a single household. In another example, if a property manager sees an increased demand for hot water (e.g., if a new resident is added to a house), the water heater may be upgraded by adding another reactor to the hot water tank to meet the increased demand.

In another configuration, the fusion reactor may be used as a heat source for a slotless water heater. In a slotless water heater, water is circulated through a cooling circuit in the reactor containment wall. The cooling circuit may take the form of a conduit that circulates through a containment wall or outer electrode of the reactor, for example (see, for example, the cooling circuit used by the heat engine described in fig. 27). In some cases, water is also circulated through a cooling loop in the inner electrode of the reactor. Once water flow is detected, rather than maintaining the water at a heated temperature, the reactor may be operated to heat the flowing water so that the water in the water heater rapidly rises to within a defined temperature range. Like a conventional slotless water heater, since water is heated only when it is consumed, energy is not lost while keeping the water in the tank hot. In some cases, the power supplied to the electrodes of the reactor may be determined in part by the flow rate of water through the slotless water heater, the temperature of the water entering the slotless water heater, and the temperature of the water exiting the slotless water heater. When no water is flowing, the reactor may be shut down or idle so that no reaction occurs.

In some embodiments, a tank or slotless water heater may be configured to provide hot water to a radiator. When hot water is provided to the radiator, the operation of the water heater and/or control of the hot water produced by the water heater may be used for indoor climate control. For example, hot water provided by a water heater may pass through a radiator to transfer thermal energy from the hot water to the ambient air. In some cases, the water heating circuit may be a closed loop circuit in which water is returned to the water heater to be reheated once the water has passed through one or more radiators. In some cases, the working fluids described elsewhere herein may be used for indoor heating applications. In some cases, the reactor of a water heater may be controlled to maintain the ambient air temperature within an interior space (e.g., a room or building) within a defined range. For example, if the air temperature drops below a certain threshold, a fusion reaction can be initiated to increase the temperature of the water delivered to the heat sink.

Although the embodiments specify water as the fluid to be heated, the fluid is not limited to water. Other fluids may also be heated, such as working fluids used in heat engines or for cooling reactors, as discussed elsewhere herein.

Bench reactor

In some embodiments, the reactors described herein may be classified as bench top reactors. Unless otherwise indicated, the description of a reactor described as being for a water heater also applies to a bench reactor. The small size of the bench reactor makes it suitable for applications such as residential and commercial uses. Due to its size, the bench reactor may be portable. In certain embodiments, the confinement wall of the bench reactor is less than about 50 centimeters in diameter and also less than about 1 meter in length in the z-direction. The bench reactor may be integrated with an energy conversion module as described elsewhere herein. For example, a bench reactor may be configured with a stirling engine to generate mechanical energy in the form of a moving piston or a rotating crankshaft. In another example, the stirling engine may be mechanically coupled to a generator for providing electrical energy, and/or the reactor may be equipped with a thermoelectric generator that converts thermal energy dissipated from the reactor into electrical energy. Us provisional patent application No. 62/504335 filed on 2017, month 5 and day 10 discusses an example of a thermoelectric generator that may be used in a bench reactor, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/505749, filed on 12/5/2017, discusses an example of a heat engine that may be used in a bench top reactor, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Us provisional patent application No. 62/503754, filed 5, 9, 2017, describes an example of a direct energy conversion module that can be used to generate electrical energy from the kinetic energy of charged fusion products, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

In some cases, the energy conversion modules associated with a bench reactor may be capable of individually or collectively outputting mechanical or electrical power in the range of about 1 kilowatt to about 1 megawatt. In some cases, a bench reactor may provide mechanical or electrical power of about 5 kilowatts to about 100 kilowatts. In some implementations, power may be stored in an on-board energy storage device such as a battery or capacitor. The stored energy may then be used to power the continued operation of the reactor or to power another electrical device. In some cases, the bench reactor includes circuitry for regulating the voltage and/or current supplied by the reactor. In some cases, the reactor may include an alternator that provides alternating current that may be used by everyday electrical equipment. In some cases, the bench reactor may be configured to be powered through a conventional 2-pin 15A receptacle (or any other conventional receptacle).

Typically, a bench top reactor includes a housing that supports the reactor. For example, components such as electrodes, magnets, valves, and energy conversion modules may be supported by the housing to some extent. In some cases, a housing may be used to provide a barrier to high voltage components of the reactor (e.g., bare electrodes and/or hardware that provides high voltage to the electrodes). In some embodiments, the housing may be made of plastic or another electrically insulating material. In some cases, the enclosure may provide a barrier for components such as electrodes that may heat up, reducing the risk of physical injury that may occur if the high temperature components are touched during reactor operation. In some cases, the housing may also be used to provide thermal insulation. This may be helpful if the reactor is located in a room or if the reactor stack is placed in proximity to a temperature sensitive material. In some cases, the housing may include an insulating layer. For example, the housing may have a vacuum insulation layer, a silica aerogel layer, or a foam layer. In some cases, the enclosure may provide protection from moisture that may corrode reactor materials.

Claim elements that do not recite "means" or "steps" are not intended to be limited to "means plus function" or "steps plus function". (see 35USC § 112 (f)). Applicants intend that only claim elements reciting "means" or "step" be understood as being in accordance with or conforming to 35u.s.c. § 112 (f).

The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims (34)

1. An apparatus for providing mechanical or electrical energy, the apparatus comprising:

(a) a reactor, the reactor comprising:

a confinement wall at least partially surrounding a confinement region within which charged particles and neutrals are rotatable, wherein a maximum diameter of the confinement wall is less than about 50 centimeters;

a plurality of electrodes adjacent or proximate to the confinement region;

a control system comprising a voltage and/or current source configured to apply an electrical potential between at least two of the plurality of electrodes, wherein the applied electrical potential generates an electric field within the confinement region that induces and/or maintains rotational motion of the charged particles and the neutrals in the confinement region, alone or in combination with a magnetic field, and

a reactant disposed in or adjacent to the confinement region such that, during operation, repeated collisions between the neutrals and the reactant produce interactions with the reactant, the interactions releasing energy and producing products having a nuclear mass different from that of either of the neutrals and the reactant's nuclei; and

(b) one or more energy conversion modules configured to convert at least some of the energy released by the interaction into mechanical and/or electrical energy.

2. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrodes are azimuthally distributed around the confinement region, and wherein the control system is configured to induce rotational motion of the charged particles and the neutrals in the confinement region by applying a time-varying voltage to the plurality of electrodes.

3. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the reactor is configured to induce rotational motion of charged particles and neutrals in the confinement region through interaction between the electric field and the applied magnetic field within the confinement region.

4. The device of claim 3, further comprising at least one permanent magnet configured to generate the applied magnetic field.

5. The device of claim 3, further comprising at least two permanent ring magnets, wherein the at least two permanent ring magnets are axially separated along the confinement region by one or more spacers.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein each of the at least two permanent ring magnets is separated from an adjacent permanent ring magnet by a distance of about 0.5 inches to about 1.5 inches.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, the reactor further comprising an electron emitter disposed in or adjacent to the confined region such that, during operation, the electron emitter generates electrons in the confined region.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reactor further comprises an inlet valve configured to regulate a flow of the neutrals to the reactor.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a gas canister configured to supply the neutrals to the confinement region through the inlet valve, wherein the gas canister is configured to be replaceable.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the reactor further comprises a pressure gauge for monitoring the pressure in the confined area.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the reactor further comprises an outlet valve configured to remove gas from the confined area.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the reactor further comprises a pump connected to the outlet valve, the pump configured to reduce the pressure within the containment region.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an electrical energy storage device, wherein the one or more energy conversion modules are configured to store electrical energy in the energy storage device.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an electrical energy storage device, wherein the control system is configured to apply an electrical potential between at least two of the plurality of electrodes using energy from the electrical energy storage device.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control system is configured to receive power from an ac power source.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reactant comprises boron-11 in lanthanum hexaboride.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the reactor is configured such that additional lanthanum hexaboride can be added to the reactor after a period of operation.

18. The device of claim 1, further comprising a heat exchanger configured to remove thermal energy from at least one of the plurality of electrodes.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more energy conversion modules are configured to generate less than about 1 megawatt of power.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more energy conversion modules generate electrical energy, and further comprising circuitry for regulating the current and/or voltage generated by the one or more energy conversion modules, wherein the circuitry is configured to deliver electrical power having the regulated voltage and/or current to an external electrical device.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the electrical power is direct current, and wherein the circuitry for regulating the voltage and/or current further comprises an alternator for converting the direct current to alternating current.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reactor further comprises a ceramic brake that electrically isolates a high voltage portion of the reactor from a ground portion of the reactor.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the ceramic brake comprises alumina.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a housing at least partially enclosing the reactor and/or the one or more energy conversion modules.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises an enclosure that provides structural support to the reactor and/or the one or more energy conversion modules.

26. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a housing configured to provide thermal or electrical insulation between the reactor and a surrounding environment.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the footprint of the enclosure is less than about 4 square meters.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the footprint of the enclosure is less than about 2 square meters.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the housing comprises at least one flange attachable to the confinement wall to separate the confinement region from the ambient environment.

30. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more energy conversion modules is selected from the group consisting of: a stirling engine, a photovoltaic cell, a thermoelectric generator, a magnetohydrodynamic generator and a module for converting the kinetic energy of the interaction products into electrical energy.

31. A method for supplying mechanical and/or electrical energy from a bench reactor, the method comprising:

applying an electric field between at least two of the plurality of electrodes adjacent or near a confinement region such that the applied electric field at least partially traverses the confinement region and induces rotational motion of the charged particles and neutrals within the confinement region,

wherein repeated collisions of neutrals with reactants disposed in or adjacent to the confinement region produce interactions that produce products having nuclear masses that are different from nuclear masses of the particles and nuclei of the fusion reactants, and

wherein the interaction releases energy;

receiving energy at an energy conversion module, wherein the energy conversion module generates mechanical or electrical energy; and

providing the generated mechanical and/or electrical energy to a load.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the rotating neutrals comprise hydrogen and the target material comprises boron-11.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the energy conversion module is selected from the group consisting of: a stirling engine, a photovoltaic cell, a thermoelectric generator, a magnetohydrodynamic generator and a module for converting the kinetic energy of the interaction products into electrical energy.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the energy conversion module generates electrical energy, and wherein the load is an electrical energy storage device.

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