Muon-catalyzed fusion-an energy production perspective

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994 · Fusion Technology

OSTI ID:105359

Eliezer, S; Henis, Z ^[1]

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1. Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne (Israel)

The nuclear fission reaction can be catalyzed in a suitable fusion fuel by muons, which can temporarily form very tightly bound mu-molecules. Muons can be produced by the decay of negative pions, which, in turn, have been produced by an accelerated beam of light ions impinging on a target. Muon-catalyzed fusion is appropriately called cold fusion because the nuclear fusion also occurs at room temperature. For practical fusion energy generation, it appears to be necessary to have a fuel mixture of deuterium and tritium at about liquid density and at a temperature of the order of 1000 K. The current status of muon-catalyzed fusion is limited to demonstrations of scientific breakeven by showing that it is possible to sustain an energy balance between muon production and catalyzed fusion. Conceptually, a muon-catalyzed fusion reactor is seen to be an energy amplifier that increases by fusion reactions that energy invested in nuclear pion-muon beams. The physical quantity that determines this balance is X{sub {mu}}, the number of fusion reactions each muon can catalyze before it is lost. Showing the feasibility of useful power production is equivalent to showing that X{sub {mu}} can exceed a sufficiently large number, which is estimated to be {approx}10{sup 4} if standard technology is used or {approx}10{sup 3} if more advanced physics and technology can be developed. Since a muon can be produced with current technology for an expenditure of {approx}5000 MeV and 17.6 MeV is produced per fusion event, it follows that X{sub {mu}} {approx} 250 would be a significant demonstration of scientific breakeven. Therefore, the energy cost of producing muons must be reduced substantially before muon-catalyzed fusion reactors could seriously be considered. The physics of muon-catalyzed fusion is summarized and discussed. Muon catalysis is surveyed for the following systems: proton-deuteron, deuteron-deuteron, deuteron-triton, and non-hydrogen elements. 95 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 105359
• Journal Information: Fusion Technology, Journal Name: Fusion Technology Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 26; ISSN FUSTE8; ISSN 0748-1896
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BINDING ENERGY
COLD FUSION
ENERGY CONVERSION
ENERGY LEVELS
HAMILTONIANS
HYBRID REACTORS
LASER RADIATION
MAGNETIC MIRRORS
MESIC ATOMS
MUON-CATALYZED FUSION
MUONIC MOLECULES
MUONS MINUS