Nuclear fusion using high energy charged particle convergence at a target cathode

Abstract

A controlled fusion process is provided that can produce a sustained series of fusion reactions: a process that (i) uses a substantially higher reactant density of the deuterium and tritium gases by converging cationic reactants into the higher reaction density at a target cathode rather than relying on random collisions, the converging producing a substantially higher rate of fusion and energy production; (ii) uses a substantially lower input of energy to initiate the fusion; (iii) can be cycled at a substantially higher cycle frequency; (iv) has a practical heat exchange method; (v) is substantially less costly to manufacture, operate, and maintain; and, (vi) has a substantially improved reaction efficiency as a result of not mixing reactants with products.

1 . A method of producing an at least substantially continuous electrical energy from a cyclized nuclear fusion reaction, comprising:
 evacuating a reaction chamber to a pressure that is lower than about 10 −3  torr;   inducing a pulse of (i) a first reactant into the evacuated reaction chamber through a first reactant port and a pulse of (ii) a second reactant into the evacuated reaction chamber through a second reactant port;   converging the first reactant with the second reactant at a target cathode for colliding and fusing the first reactant with the second reactant to create a heat energy, the converging including
 creating an electrical field in the reaction chamber by applying a voltage across an anode surface positioned in the interior of the reaction chamber and a cathode surface positioned in the interior of the reaction chamber, the electric field ionizing the first reactant to generate a cationic first reactant and ionizing the second reactant to generate a cationic second reactant; 
 establishing a negative charge on the target cathode for attracting and converging the cationic first reactant and the cationic second reactant at the target cathode for colliding and fusing the cationic first reactant with the cationic second reactant to create the heat energy; 
   transferring the heat energy to a steam vessel to drive a turbine to create an electrical energy;   replacing the target cathode with a replacement target cathode to complete a first cycle of the nuclear fusion method; and,   repeating the evacuating, inducing, applying, converging, transferring, and replacing for n additional cycles of the nuclear fusion method, wherein n is an integer that produces an at least substantially continuous electrical energy from the nuclear fusion reaction.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising independently selecting the first reactant and the second reactant from the group consisting of deuterium, tritium, and helium. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising using deuterium as the first reactant and tritium as the second reactant. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising using deuterium as the first reactant and the second reactant. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising using tritium as the first reactant and tritium as the second reactant. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the pressure in the evacuated reaction chamber to range from about 10 −4  torr to about 10 −9  torr. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the pressure in the evacuated reaction chamber to range from about 10 −6  torr to about 10 −9  torr. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising configuring the pulse of the first reactant or the pulse of the second reactant to be applied as a convergent flow on the target cathode. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising configuring the pulse of the first reactant or the pulse of the second reactant to be applied as a divergent flow on the target cathode. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising configuring the pulse of the first reactant or the pulse of the second reactant to be applied as a fan pattern on the target cathode. 
     
     
         11 . A system for producing an at least substantially continuous electrical energy from a cyclized nuclear fusion reaction, the system comprising:
 a reaction vessel having a reaction chamber configured for evacuation of the chamber to a pressure that is lower than about 10 −3  torr;   a vacuum port adapted for an operable connection to a vacuum source for evacuating the reaction chamber to a pressure that is lower than about 10 −3  torr;   a first injector in operable communication with a first reactant port in the evacuated reaction chamber for inducing a pulse of a first reactant into the evacuated reaction chamber through the first reactant port;   a second injector in operable communication with a second reactant port in the evacuated reaction chamber for inducing a pulse of a second reactant into the evacuated reaction chamber through the second reactant port;   an anode surface and a cathode surface for operably connecting to a voltage source, the anode surface and the cathode surface positioned in the interior of the reaction chamber to create an electric field in the evacuated reaction chamber upon application of a voltage, the electric field ionizing the first reactant to generate a cationic first reactant and ionizing the second reactant to generate a cationic second reactant;   a target cathode positioned in the reaction chamber at a first distance from the first injector and a second distance from the second injector, the target cathode configured to function as a negatively charged electrode for attracting and converging the cationic first reactant and the cationic second reactant at the target cathode for colliding and fusing the cationic first reactant with the cationic second reactant to create a heat energy; and,   a steam chamber in operable contact with the reaction chamber, the steam chamber configured for receiving the heat energy from the fusion reaction in the reaction chamber.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first injector is configured for injecting deuterium and the second injector is configured for injecting tritium. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first injector is configured for injecting deuterium and the second injector is configured for injecting deuterium. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first injector is configured for injecting tritium and the second injector is configured for injecting tritium. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the reaction chamber is configured to operate at a chamber pressure that ranges from about 10 −4  torr to about 10 −9  torr. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the reaction chamber is configured to operate at a chamber pressure that ranges from about 10 −6  torr to about 10 −9  torr. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first injector or the second injector are adapted to provide a convergent reactant flow on the target electrode. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first injector or the second injector are adapted to provide a divergent reactant flow on the target electrode. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first injector or the second injector are adapted to provide a fan pattern reactant flow on the target electrode. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the target electrode is comprised of aluminum. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a shield between the first injector and the target electrode, between the second injector and the target electrode, or a combination thereof.