A fast route to small-scale ICF fusion?

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Torulf2
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A fast route to small-scale ICF fusion?

Post by Torulf2 »

Fusion reactions in high-density hydrogen: A fast route to small-scale fusion?

A researcher in my home town have produced “high-density deuterium”. Sorry, the latest news only in Swedish. Leif Holmlid says it can be possible for laser fusion to utilise the D+D reaction.

really long url

http://www2.chem.gu.se/~holmlid/index.html

chrismb
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Post by chrismb »

It doesn't matter how dense your fuel target is - it just means the projectile fuel ions dissipate their energy into the target quicker, in a shorter distance. Makes no difference at all, just means you can get more reactions.

Torulf2
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Post by Torulf2 »

Here are more info.

long url

My reflection is, this can be a road to high themperatur super conductors.

chrismb
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Post by chrismb »

Torulf2 wrote: My reflection is, this can be a road to high themperatur super conductors.
What have superconductors got to do with this?

Torulf2
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Post by Torulf2 »

Metallic high density hydrogen is bedewed to be supra conducting in high temperatures. The strong magnetic field of the planet Jupiter may come from this.

chrismb
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Post by chrismb »

Torulf2 wrote:Metallic high density hydrogen is bedewed to be supra conducting in high temperatures. The strong magnetic field of the planet Jupiter may come from this.
I've no reason to doubt it. But the mechanism in this posited fusion process is a beam-target mechanism, no magentic field required. The target's superconductivity, or not, is as relevant as it is pink, or not.

D Tibbets
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Post by D Tibbets »

Metalic hydrogen may be a super conducter at high temperatures, but the pressures needed to form and maintain metallic hydrogen are tremendous- ie the inner cores of massive planets. I'm assumeing that the difficulty of achieving this condition is far, far more challenging than those of using liquid helium for conventional super conducters.

Dan Tibbets
To error is human... and I'm very human.

Torulf2
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Post by Torulf2 »


D Tibbets
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Post by D Tibbets »

This and a couple of other articles hint that they can produce compressed hydrogen , similar to if not the same as metallic hydrogen. What is potentially amasing, if true, is that they hint that it may be stable for significant periods of time ( no definition of what significant means- it might be anywhere from 1 picosecond to eons). They mention that when if breaks down through "coulomb explosion" severl hundred electron volts of energy are released. Irregardless weather this could be applied to fusion reactions, it would make a tremendously powerful form of stored energy similar to some press a few years ago where some were claiming thay could control the halflife of certain nuclear isomers. Not a way to produce energy, but a way to store it in a condensed high energy form usefull for space craft and bombs.


Dan Tibbets
To error is human... and I'm very human.

pfrit
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Post by pfrit »

D Tibbets wrote:
This and a couple of other articles hint that they can produce compressed hydrogen , similar to if not the same as metallic hydrogen.
I seem to remember reading in science news ~1 year ago that a lab managed to create what could have been metallic hydrogen. It was only a few atoms worth for a very sort time, but allowed some analysis. It was of interest because they could make any.

EDIT: Indeed, it would appear that they have been doing it for years! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallic_hydrogen
What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

kurt9
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Post by kurt9 »

This laboratory made ultra-dense deuterium, what is its lifetime once made? Does it have to be made or stored at cryogenic temperature? Could this be used to make a fusion bomb that does not require a fission trigger?

pfrit
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Post by pfrit »

Any solid hydrogen (not metallic) would have to be below ~14 K (the melting point of hydrogen). Odviously, higher pressure would move the melting point, but not much.
What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

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