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In this accepted manuscript for IEEE Spectrum, T. Benyo, L. Forsley, B. Steinetz and B. Baramsai explain NASA’s lattice-confinement fusion experiments and their proposed development. Deuterated metal lattices hold dense fuel while electronic screening helps charged nuclei approach one another. An electron accelerator and tantalum target supply photons up to 2.9 MeV to titanium or erbium deuteride, initiating neutron-mediated reactions. The authors describe neutron spectra with a 2.45 MeV fusion peak and higher peaks near 4 and 5 MeV, whose possible origins include boosted fusion or stripping reactions. The demonstrated process is externally driven and subcritical; improved efficiency, reaction-rate scaling and possible fusion–fission coupling remain engineering directions toward useful power.
A New Way of Triggering Nuclear Fusion
- T. Benyo(Author)
- L. Forsley(Author)
- B. Steinetz(Author)
- B. Baramsai(Author)
Publication and identifiers
- Work type
- Paper
- Year
- 2022
- Publisher
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- Edition
- Accepted manuscript V3.4 for IEEE Spectrum; NTRS20210025501
- Identifiers
- accession ntrs:20210025501Authority: ntrs
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- Linking only
- Rights holder
- Not established by consulted item metadata
Citation fields
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- Original title
- A New Way of Triggering Nuclear Fusion
- Attribution
- T. Benyo(Author)
- L. Forsley(Author)
- B. Steinetz(Author)
- B. Baramsai(Author)
- Year
- 2022
- Publisher
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- Edition
- Accepted manuscript V3.4 for IEEE Spectrum; NTRS20210025501
- Identifiers
- accession ntrs:20210025501Authority: ntrs