Triton memory time in solid DT and its nuclear polarization

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · Fusion Technol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5910687

Souers, P C; Fearon, E M; Mapoles, E R; Gaines, J R; Sater, J D; Collins, G W; Sherman, R H; Bartlit, J R

The expected value of nuclear spin polarization to inertial confinement fusion is recapitulated. A comparison of brute force polarization versus dynamic nuclear polarization, as applied to solid deuterium-tritium, is given, and the need for a long triton polarization memory time (longitudinal nuclear relaxation time) is shown. The time constant for 25 mol%T/sub 2/-50 DT-25 D/sub 2/ (D-T) is a short 0.3 s at 5 K and waiting in the presence of tritium radioactivity lowers it to 0.1 s. Enriched 90 to 96% molecular DT has been synthesized and held 3 to 4 hours at 10 K, which lowers the overall J = 1 T/sub 2/ concentration to about 0.1%. The resulting memory time can be raised in this way to 0.7 to 0.8 s. These samples were then melted and nH/sub 2/ added, which increased the memory times to 6 to 8 s - an increase of twenty-fold over regular D-T at 5 to 6 K. The theory shows that the species shortening the triton memory time is the J = 1 T/sub 2/, which can be reduced in our samples only by radioactive self-catalysis. Cryogenic distillation is considered as a possible means of removing the J = 1 T/sub 2/ from molecular DT.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA); Hawaii Univ., Honolulu, HI (USA). Dept. of Physics; Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (USA). Dept. of Physics; Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5910687
• Journal Information: Fusion Technol.; (United States), Vol. 14:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
DEUTERIUM TRITIDE
SYNTHESIS
TRITIUM
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
CRYOGENICS
POLARIZATION
RADIOACTIVITY
SPIN
THEORETICAL DATA
TRITON REACTIONS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHARGED-PARTICLE REACTIONS
CONFINEMENT
DATA
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
RADIOISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
700205* - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Fuel
Heating
& Injection Systems
400702 - Radiochemistry & Nuclear Chemistry- Properties of Radioactive Materials