Method for the initiation of fusion reactions for the controlled release of energy

Patent · Tue May 04 04:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:5117419

Winterberg, F M

The invention relates to a novel method for the controlled release of thermonuclear energy by inertial confinement. The essential feature of the invention is that is uses for the achievement of this goal high temperature black body radiation. The black body radiation is generated by hypervelocity impact onto a tenuous gas trapped inside a small cavity. The tenuous gas is shock-heated to high temperatures and thereby becomes a source of intense photon radiation, which after reaching thermodynamic equilibrium becomes a black body radiation. The thusly generated black body radiation is the furthermore amplified by adiabatic compression through the implosion of the cavity. During the implosion process the photons inside the cavity must be sufficiently well confined by the opacity of the cavity wall which sets a lower limit for the implosion velocity. The thusly created and amplified black body radiation is then used to ablatively implode and ignite a thermonuclear target placed inside the cavity. Because the attainable black body radiation temperatures typically reach values of about 1 kev, the corresponding short photon wave length should with much greater ease permit high density target compression than with other proposed drivers. The cavity implosion itself can be driven by any one of the available sources hitherto proposed for inertial confinement fusion, including laser beams, beams of charged particles and hypervelocity projectiles, but unlike in case of direct pellet fusion with a greatly reduced power and power density.

• Assignee: EDB-82-150085
• Patent Number(s): US 4328070
• OSTI ID: 5117419
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700208* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Inertial Confinement Technology
700209 -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Component Development & Materials Testing
BLACKBODY RADIATION
CAVITIES
CONFINEMENT
CONTROL
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IMPLOSIONS
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
LASER FUSION REACTORS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
PHOTONS
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
RADIATIONS
TARGETS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
VELOCITY