“The current findings open a new path for initiating fusion reactions for further study within the scientific community. This is according to the theory developed by the project’s theoretical physicist, Vladimir Pines, Ph.D, of PineSci. Such screening allows adjacent fuel nuclei to approach one another more closely, reducing the chance they simply scatter off one another, and increasing the likelihood that they tunnel through the electrostatic barrier promoting fusion. If the neutron instead is captured by Er, a new isotope of Er is formed (not shown).Ī novel feature of the new process is the critical role played by metal lattice electrons whose negative charges help “screen” the positively charged deuterons. In (E), a proton is stripped from an energetic “d*” and is captured by an erbium (Er) atom, which is then converted to a different element, thulium (Tm). These fusion products may also react in subsequent nuclear reactions, releasing more energy. This fusion reaction releases either a neutron and helium-3 (shown) or a proton and tritium. In (C), the energetic “d*” collides with a static deuteron “d” in the lattice, and they fuse together. The “d*” induces either screened fusion (C) or screened Oppenheimer-Phillips (O-P) stripping reactions (E). The ejected neutron collides with another deuteron, accelerating it as an energetic “d*” as seen in (B) and (D). Upon irradiation with a photon beam, a deuteron dissociates, and the neutron and proton are ejected. In Part (A), a lattice of erbium is loaded with deuterium atoms (i.e., erbium deuteride), which exist here as deuterons. Illustration of the main elements of the lattice confinement fusion process observed. Either reaction opens a path to process scaling. In addition to measuring fusion reaction neutrons, the Glenn Team also observed the production of even more energetic neutrons which is evidence of boosted fusion reactions or screened Oppenheimer-Phillips (O-P) nuclear stripping reactions with the metal lattice atoms. Upon irradiation, some of the fuel deuterons dissociate resulting in both the needed energetic neutrons and protons. In the current experiments, the neutrons were created through photodissociation of deuterons via exposure to 2.9+MeV gamma (energetic X-ray) beam. In the new method, a neutron source “heats” or accelerates deuterons sufficiently such that when colliding with a neighboring deuteron it causes D-D fusion reactions. During exposure, the deuterated erbium (ErD 3) showed evidence of fusion reactions.Ī metal such as erbium is “deuterated” or loaded with deuterium atoms, “deuterons,” packing the fuel a billion times denser than in magnetic confinement (tokamak) fusion reactors. Photograph of the deuterated metals exposed to the bremsstrahlung radiation during the test. While the metal lattice, loaded with deuterium fuel, may initially appear to be at room temperature, the new method creates an energetic environment inside the lattice where individual atoms achieve equivalent fusion-level kinetic energies. In the new method, conditions sufficient for fusion are created in the confines of the metal lattice that is held at ambient temperature. In magnetic confinement fusion, the fuel is heated in a plasma to temperatures much higher than those at the center of the Sun. In previous fusion research such as inertial confinement fusion, fuel (such as deuterium/tritium) is compressed to extremely high levels but for only a short, nano-second period of time, when fusion can occur. “However, conventional fusion reactions are difficult to achieve and sustain because they rely on temperatures so extreme to overcome the strong electrostatic repulsion between positively charged nuclei that the process has been impractical.”Ĭalled Lattice Confinement Fusion, the method NASA revealed accomplishes fusion reactions with the fuel (deuterium, a widely available non-radioactive hydrogen isotope composed of a proton, neutron, and electron, and denoted “D”) confined in the space between the atoms of a metal solid. “Scientists are interested in fusion, because it could generate enormous amounts of energy without creating long-lasting radioactive byproducts,” said Theresa Benyo, Ph.D., of NASA’s Glenn Research Center. Nuclear fusion is a process that produces energy when two nuclei join to form a heavier nucleus. Their research was published in two peer-reviewed papers in the top journal in the field, Physical Review C, Volume 101 (April, 2020) : “ Nuclear fusion reactions in deuterated metals” and “ Novel nuclear reactions observed in bremsstrahlung-irradiated deuterated metals.” Home > Space > Science Lattice Confinement Fusion NASA Detects Lattice Confinement FusionĪ team of NASA researchers seeking a new energy source for deep-space exploration missions, recently revealed a method for triggering nuclear fusion in the space between the atoms of a metal solid.
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