New Mars Forums

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,382

Aneutronic Fusion - Boron 11 and Hydrogen

A great deal of work has been done in an attempt to harness this reaction.

It appears that no one has solved the many serious technical issues that are involved.

This new topic is available for any NewMars member to contribute links or text to help members learn about the process, or to keep up with developments.

The opening post will offer a link to a ChatGPT transcript which covers the differences between Boron-10 and Boron-11.

Each yields useful results when bombarded with protons of the correct energy level, but the results differ significantly.

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,382

Re: Aneutronic Fusion - Boron 11 and Hydrogen

The transcript at the link below covers some differences between Boron-10 and Boron-11.

The methods of separation of the isotopes is covered.

Production of alpha particles by Boron-11 >> Carbon 12 is covered

Generation of a positron Boron-10 >> Carbon-11 is covered.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pka … sp=sharing

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,382

Re: Aneutronic Fusion - Boron 11 and Hydrogen

In another topic, the relationship between Quantum effects and biological systems is considered.

The author is: Clarice D. Aiello, University of California, Los Angeles

One of the aspects of Quantum Physics mentioned in the article is spin of particles such as electrons, but apparently including all (or most) known particles, and (presumably) unknown ones as well.

I bring this up in the context of the outstanding and (so far) unsolved problem of achieving reliable, efficient fusion of Boron-11 with Protons.  The problem facing all researchers is that the protons gathered in the nucleus of Boron-11 (or any nucleus) don't appreciate the arrival of another proton.  It is possible to persuade the reluctant members of the Boron-11 "family" to accept an intruder, but the party breaks up shortly afterward.

I am interested in spin as a possible angle of approach to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of persuading these reluctant parties to join together for a good cause.  The good cause (of course) is space craft propulsion of thermal or electrical energy for human applications.

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,382

Re: Aneutronic Fusion - Boron 11 and Hydrogen

In pursuing the question of how to create Tritium for a potential nuclear battery market, I found it useful to investigate Boron-11+Proton reactions.  It's been a while since I looked into progress in this area.

ChatGPT4 suggested a Google service: scholar.google.com

I entered a search string looking for the energy of a Proton that successfully enters a Boron-11 nucleus.

There were many citations delivered by the search request. The first of this was for this paper:

https://rdcu.be/dvbpU

Home Journal of Fusion Energy

    Article

HB11—Understanding Hydrogen-Boron Fusion as a New Clean Energy Source

    Review
    Open access
    Published: 13 May 2023

    Volume 42, article number 17, (2023)
    Cite this article

This is a thorough discussion of the work done by numerous researchers of a number of years, starting in 1930 when Boron-11+Proton was first discovered.  The paper discusses Deuterium-Tritium fusion efforts at considerable length, and provides a long list of advantages of B11-P if it can be made to work.

It appears that break-even has not been achieved by any of the research teams.  Two approaches may be of interest to NewMars readers. One is the traditional "Pitcher-Catcher" approach. The second is the newer "In-Target" approach, which features energy delivered by a laser to a target that is enriched with Hydrogen.  The theory of operation is to cause the Hydrogen to move at just the right velocity to enter the B11 nucleus.

The paper is available as a downloadable pdf.

The specific item I was looking for was the energy of the Proton that enters the B11 nucleus ... that showed up as a data point in a range of uncertainty:

Material Properties One basic element which is still not precisely known, despite the discovery of HB11 fusion almost 90 years ago, is the precise behavior of proton boron fusion cross-section. Classical data on the proton-boron cross section by Nevins & Swain [4] has been more recently revisited by Sikora and Weller [45] who found higher cross sections in the range of "10 MeV". Still, the exact shape of the cross section at energies below a few hundred "keV" and for energies " > 3MeV"is not known. Presently, several experiments are being planned to fill these gaps the results of which will be critical to developing the models used to simulate laser-driven proton-boron fusion experiments. Similarly, an understanding of the equation of state and opacities of boron under extreme conditions will be another critical requirement for accurate simulations, particularly under compression as proposed for the "Hybrid Burn”.

(th)