A working fusion reactor?

[Kevin Renner]

The use of a nuclear reactor in surface ships freeing them from refueling operations at sea and the need foreseen for large amounts of electrical power required for rail guns and directed energy weapons such as lasers goes a long way to explain the US Navy's interest in and funding of alternative fusion reactor proposals. Even if Tokamaks prove workable fitting one in a ship might prove difficult. Remember we already have at least one working commercial fusion reactor that has been brought to market. But it is not sold to produce power but rather as a neutron source

Neutron Generator Technology: High Yield Neutron Generators

Our Neutron Generator technology uses a microwave ion source and acclerator system to bombard custom targets with high ions to generate an extremely high and stable neutron flux.

www.googleadservices.com

 

[Hobbes]

What 'working commercial fusion reactor' are you referring to? You quoted from an ad, and the only place I can trace that text to is a Pinterest page.

 

[TomS]

What 'working commercial fusion reactor' are you referring to? You quoted from an ad, and the only place I can trace that text to is a Pinterest page.

Phoenix are real players in fusion-based neutron generator technology. The technical approach they use is simply bombarding a deuterium or tritium target with a stream of deuterium ions. Yes, this generates a significant neutron flux that they use mainly for manufacturing medical isotopes.

But calling this a fusion reactor is grossly misleading. They are nowhere close to break-even, and aren't even trying for power generation. Their marketing materials suggest that their neutron generator tech could eventually contribute to fusion power but it's not obvious how.

Record breaking fusion reaction could transform medical isotope production – Physics World

A new world record for the strongest steady-state nuclear fusion reaction could boost production of the vital medical isotope molybdenum-99

physicsworld.com

 

[publiusr]

Now over at Cosmoquest/Bad Astronomy forum…someone asked about what it would take to fuse iron…the starkiller. And yet… perhaps a uber thin sacrificial iron tube filled with more easily fused elements might allow an autophage fusion cigar inside a wider apparatus. Spiral toroidal designs interest me. With tornadoes, there is a phase called vortex breakdown…when the breakdown bubble reaches the ground, it marked the beginning of of multiple sub-vortices being spawned. But just before—from a 1986 MN chopper video on TORNADO VIDEO CLASSICS—you have but a single, super narrow suction vortex. This could help magnetic constriction as well, with perhaps a sacrificial target introduced and also laser hit so as to have a continuous “breathing” fusion?

 

[dannydale]

An inertially-confined FRC, in other words?

 

[Hobbes]

Why would you want to fuse an element that takes more energy to fuse than it'll ever yield?

 

[publiusr]

That’s just a sacrificial element…a place holder. You don’t just eat sausage liners alone right? Same here. Something to hold the goody. If an animal ate all husk or bark it may starve. As long as what is inside is nourishment, you can deal with the roughage.

Now I understand we have some very powerful breakthroughs in magnets. I bet that might help with maglev sleds too perhaps.

 

[Nik]

Chinese recently reported design study on 'stellerator-ish' torus using permanent magnets. No superconductors required beyond, perhaps, 'tuning' coils...

Researchers propose novel permanent magnet design methods for quasi-axisymmetric stellarator

A new permanent magnet design of quasi-axisymmetric stellarator was made by researchers led by Prof. Xu Guosheng from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

phys.org

 

[zen]

Why would you want to fuse an element that takes more energy to fuse than it'll ever yield?

You can step it up the periodic table, and then it radiates itself back down to something safe. Ideally with a short half-life so this process is quick.