Npl Associates, Inc.

Other

University of Illinois

Lattice Energy LLC

Daimlerchrysler Aerospace

George Miley

Nie Luo

George H Miley

Xiaoling Yang

John Sved

Yibin Gu

Yasser R Shaban

Hiromu Momota

James A Patterson

Michael J Williams

Brian E Jurczyk

Blair P Bromley

Jonathan H Nadler

Heinrich W Hora

A distributed energy system includes a gas-loaded heat generator capable of producing a thermal energy. The system includes a gas source to provide one or more isotopes of hydrogen, a plurality of metallic micro-structures, a gas loading chamber containing the plurality of metallic micro-structures. The gas loading chamber is structured to receive the one or more isotopes of hydrogen from the gas source. The system also includes a gas loading system capable of providing a gas loading pressure to the gas loading chamber containing the plurality of metallic micro-structures with an amount of one or more isotopes of hydrogen to form hydrogen clusters. In one form, the system further includes a thermal transducer capable of converting a first portion of the thermal energy. In still another form, the system additionally includes a waste heat recovery device capable of applying a second portion of the thermal energy.

Power units based on dislocation site techniques

A method is provided for producing neutrons, comprising: providing a converter foil comprising deuterium clusters; focusing a laser on the foil with power and energy sufficient to cause deuteron ions to separate from the foil; and striking a surface of a target with the deuteron ions from the converter foil with energy sufficient to cause neutron production by a reaction selected from the group consisting of D-D fusion, D-T fusion, D-metal nuclear spallation, and p-metal. A further method is provided for assembling a plurality of target assemblies for a target injector to be used in the previously mentioned manner. A further method is provided for producing neutrons, comprising: splitting a laser beam into a first beam and a second beam; striking a first surface of a target with the first beam, and an opposite second surface of the target with the second beam with energy sufficient to cause neutron production.

Method of using deuterium-cluster foils for an intense pulsed neutron source

A method includes operating a gas loading system with a source of one or more isotopes of hydrogen, a gas loading chamber containing a number of metallic nanoparticles, the metallic nanoparticles being selected to provide for a predetermined hydrogen cluster formation density, a vacuum system, and a valve system in communication with the gas loading chamber, the source of one or more isotopes of hydrogen and the vacuum system; providing the gas loading chamber with a first quantity of the one or more isotopes of hydrogen from the source of one or more isotopes of hydrogen; monitoring an operating temperature; and cycling a loading pressure of the gas loading chamber using the source of one or more isotopes of hydrogen in response to providing the gas loading chamber and monitoring the operating temperature.

Dislocation site density techniques

Techniques to form dislocation cores along an interface of a multilayer thin film structure are described. The loading and/or deloading of isotopes of hydrogen are also described in association with core formation. The described techniques can provide be applied to superconductive structure formation, x-ray and charged particle generation, nuclear reaction processes, and/or inertial confinement fusion targets.

Dislocation site formation techniques

One embodiment of the present invention includes a technique of performing a catalytic oxidation reaction at an anode to provide hydrogen ions from molecular hydrogen and a catalytic reduction reaction at a cathode to provide hydroxyl ions from liquid hydrogen peroxide. Passage of the molecular hydrogen to a reaction region is impeded with a proton exchange membrane and passage of the hydrogen peroxide to the reaction region is impeded with an ion-selective arrangement. Electric potential is generated between the anode and the cathode to provide electric power from a reaction of the hydrogen ions and the hydroxyl ions in the reaction region. In one variation, a regeneration technique is also provided.

Hydrogen/hydrogen peroxide fuel cell

One form of the invention is directed to an apparatus that comprises step-down circuitry to better match impedance between an input and an output that includes a number of stages each electrically coupled to another and each including a charge storage device. The circuitry further includes a number of switching devices operable in a first electrical connectivity state to connect the charge storage device of each of the stages in series to receive electrical charge from the input and in a second electrical connectivity state opposite the first state to connect the charge storage device of each of the stages in parallel to discharge electricity through the output. This circuitry can be used in connection with a radioisotopic conversion cell.

Power conversion circuitry

A high-perveance steady state deuterium ion gun was developed using a magnetic-index resonator in an Inductive Coupling Radio Frequency (ICRF) configuration. This approach made it feasible to generate an ion beam within millimeter dimensions extracted by negative potential placed at several centimeters from the exit of the ion source. The ion gun allows high extraction efficiency and low beam divergence as compared to other approaches.

Methods, apparatus, and systems involving ion beam generation

Preferred electrode devices () including a substrate () and cathode () and anode material () coated thereon in discreet locations are described. The cathode materials desirably include multiple layers of thin metal films (). Preferred cell devices including conductive elements and a solid state source of charged ions for migration into and through the conductive elements are also described.

Electrical cells, components and methods

Among the embodiments of the present invention, are apparatus, systems, and methods for managing energetic charged particles emitted nearly isotropically from a fusion device. One apparatus of the present invention includes a fusion device in a container and an electric current carrying winding disposed about the container to provide a magnetic field to direct charged particles generated by the device. A pair of electric current carrying coils are positioned within the container to control the strength of the magnetic field in a region between these coils, such that effects on fusion plasma can be minimized. In other forms, charged particles provided from a fusion device are directed along a magnetic channel to an energy converter to provide electric power. One such form includes a magnetic expander and an electron-ion separator to provide a net electric current.

Apparatus and methods for controlling charged particles

Described are preferred multilayer, thin-film electrodes ( ) that have improved resistance to flaking or cracking under conditions of operation. Also described are electrolytic cells ( ) incorporating such electrodes ( ), and methods for selecting electrode materials to facilitate reaction rates, energy production, and/or to shift the average mass number of transmuted products to lighter or heavier values. Preferred electrodes ( ) have a plurality of thin-film conductive layers ( ) supported on generally concave surfaces ( ).

Flake-resistant multilayer thin-film electrodes and electrolytic cells incorporating same

A low cost small-scale tunable X-ray source, comprising a spherical-electron injected inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) device. Within a spherical containment vessel (,) recirculatory focusing electrons are accelerated by a spherical grid (,) within the vessel, and cause electron&mdash;electron collisions in a dense, central plasma core region (,) of the sphere. The IEC synchrotron source (IEC-SS) in a mechanism for generating tunable X-ray radiation is essentially equivalent to that for conventional synchrotron sources. The IEC-SS operates at a much lower electron energy (<100 kev compared with >200 Mev in a synchrotron), but still gives the same X-ray energy due to the small-scale bending radius associated with the electron&mdash;electron interactions. The X-rays can be filtered for particular purposes using diffraction gratings, prisms or the like.

Spherical inertial electrostatic confinement device as a tunable x-ray source

A device (,) for producing fullerenes includes an IEC vacuum chamber (,) which has a central grid-like electrode (,) and a conductive outer shell (,) that are connected to a pulsed source of high voltage (,) and provide an electric field within the chamber (,). The applied voltage supports the creation of a plasma at the inner core of the chamber near the electrode (,). A carbon-based gas, which is introduced into the chamber (,), possibly along with an inert buffer gas, id dissociated into component carbon and hydrogen ions that are separated and the carbon ions recombined into fullerenes that appears as a soot. The device (,) includes a soot extraction mechanism for removing and collecting the fullerenes.

Growing community of inventors

Champaign, IL, United States of America

George H Miley