DocumentCode :
1609106
Title :
A method of increasing the rate of nuclear fusion inside an IEC device
Author :
Lopez, J.E.R.
Author_Institution :
Fusortek, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
fYear :
2013
Firstpage :
1
Lastpage :
5
Abstract :
In its basic form, IEC (Inertial Electrostatic Confinement) fusion is a method wherein plasma confinement is achieved by electrostatic attraction and the ion collisions as a result of this attraction creates fusion. It is comparatively less expensive than other techniques such as Tokomaks, Laser ICF (Inertial Confinement Fusion) or Stellarators, but similar to these other devices it has not been able to achieve break even. One of the majors objections by the scientific community is thermalization wherein high energy ions lose their energy and focus when colliding with lower energy ions or electrons; and high energy ions escaping containment both causing energy loss at a rate faster than fusion energy gain. The other objection is the loss of ion focus into the center core, any lateral vector caused by ion to electron electrostatic attraction would result in the single intersection point in the center of the core to be lost. There have been numerous attempts at improving the rate of fusion from the original concepts of Farnsworth and Hirsh and there have been incremental improvements. One of them is the Periodically Oscillating Plasma Sphere (POPS) concept that uses electrostatic fluctuating distributed grids as a means of equilibrium distribution of ions at all times but the presence of the grid sacrifices transparency wherein ions must avoid grid components [1]. This current research proposes the next steps on the improvement of IEC devices that attempts to address these major concerns. It relies on the interaction of electromagnetic waves with ions within an IEC device to induce spin polarized fusion [2].
Keywords :
electromagnetic waves; fusion reactor reaction chamber; nuclear fusion; plasma collision processes; plasma devices; plasma inertial confinement; IEC device; Periodically Oscillating Plasma Sphere; Tokomaks; center core; electromagnetic waves; electron electrostatic attraction; electrostatic fluctuating distributed grids; energy ions; equilibrium ion distribution; fusion energy gain; inertial electrostatic confinement; ion collisions; laser ICF; nuclear fusion; plasma confinement; spin polarized fusion; stellarators; thermalization; Cathodes; Electromagnetic scattering; Electromagnetics; Electrostatics; Ion sources;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Fusion Engineering (SOFE), 2013 IEEE 25th Symposium on
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4799-0169-2
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/SOFE.2013.6635509
Filename :
6635509
Link To Document :
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