Historical research guide · 0065 · 2024
Lattice Confinement Fusion-Fast-Fission
Lawrence P Forsley · Pamela A Mosier-Boss · Theresa L Benyo
In one minute
This is the briefing Lawrence Forsley, Pamela Mosier-Boss and Theresa Benyo gave at U.S. Space Disrupters Day in Washington in December 2024, and it is the shortest statement of what lattice confinement fusion is for. Fusion of hydrogen isotopes into helium, with no tokamak magnets and no laser power supplies: the fuel sits inside a metal lattice, electron screening enhances the reactions, and the lattice is, in their phrase, locally hot but globally cold. Published in Physical Review C in 2020, patented, and commercialised in 2024 in a compact neutron generator for medical radioisotopes. The new step in this brief is the hybrid: the fusion neutrons are used to fission uranium, spent fuel rods or thorium, so no enriched uranium is needed and the fission is cleaner. Forsley reports that has been demonstrated with the US Navy and Global Energy Corporation. The proposed uses run from melting through the 45 km ice shell of an icy moon to running a data centre.
Connection
Chapter 12 argues that a lowered effective Coulomb barrier turns fusion from a confinement problem into a materials problem, and this brief is what that looks like as an engineering programme — a reactor with no magnets, no lasers and no enriched uranium, with a modelling result finished at Los Alamos and scaling under way at NASA Glenn.
From the source
Lattice confinement fusion fuses hydrogen isotopes into helium with no tokamak magnets and no laser power supplies: the nuclear fuel is confined and triggered within the lattice, the nuclear reactions are enhanced by electron screening, and the result is locally hot but globally cold.Slide 2, Nuclear Fusion Without Large Magnets or Lasers
The method was published in Physical Review C in 2020 (Pines et al. 044609; Steinetz et al. 044610), rests on US Patent 8,419,919, and was patented and commercialised in 2024 by Astral Systems in a compact neutron generator with a 50× increase in neutron flux, 99 percent of it from lattice confinement fusion, producing medical radioisotopes.Abstract; Slide 2 footnotes 1–3
In the lattice confinement fusion fast-fission hybrid reaction, the fusion neutrons fission uranium, spent fuel rods or thorium — no enriched uranium, and cleaner fission — which Forsley reports has been demonstrated with the US Navy and Global Energy Corporation.Slide 2, LCF Fast-Fission Hybrid Reaction
The proposed applications carry parameters: deep-space power able to melt through 45 km ice shells of icy worlds, nuclear electric propulsion, 10–100 kWe of lunar and Mars surface power with fuel rods fabricated in situ, LEO power using no LEU, HALEU or HEU with untended operation for 5+ years, DoD operational energy under 1 MWe, and small modular reactors above 1 MWe for data centres.Slide 3, Application
Going forward: the NIAC-supported Los Alamos MCNP modelling is finished, and NSF-supported scaling is ongoing at NASA Glenn Research Center.Slide 3, Going Forward
The way in
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240015941How to cite it
Lawrence P Forsley, Pamela A Mosier-Boss, Theresa L Benyo (2024) Lattice Confinement Fusion-Fast-Fission https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240015941