Anomalous heat, attributed to Low-energy Nuclear Reactions (LENRs), is obtained by pressurizing metal alloy nanoparticles with deuterium gas. The reactions are enhanced by creation of ultra-high density deuterium clusters in the nanoparticles. Experiments comparing various nanoparticles and plans for a proof-of-principle unit are presented.

Results about low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) are related to very high density clusters of deuterons where properties of Bose– Einstein condensation and/or inverted Rydberg states are compared. A modification of Bohr’s atom model is used to overcome the problem that a quantum state with n = 1 does not emit radiation from an “orbiting” electron. This permits then the description of the inverted state of Rydberg matter in agreement with the recent measurements of Holmlid et al. for deuterium clusters with ultra-high deuteron densities in the range of 1029cm−3. A virtual oscillation model for laser excitation clusters explains the low intensity ionization threshold in clusters. MeV particle emission from LENR can then be compared with measurements from inverted Rydberg states.

Current work exploring a method for using a Petawatt laser to irradiate a deuterium-cluster (D-cluster) “converter foil” producing a very high (multi-MeV) energy deuteron beam. When focussed on a tritiated target this beam results in a forward favored angular distribution neutron pulse of large intensity (directional pulsed neutron source).

The hot spot heating process by an assumed deuteron beam is evaluated in order to estimate the contribution of the energy produced by the deuteron beam-target fusion to the heating process. The deuteron beam energy versus the number of deuterons is evaluated through the experimentally achieved proton beam energy distribution using the TRIDENT short pulse laser at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The corresponding hot spot heating is then calculated using this assumed deuteron beam spectrum. The resulting first order heating dynamics is employed in the expanded "bonus" energy calculation, and a 12.73% extra energy from deuteron beam-target fusion was found with the assumed deuteron spectrum when rho r(b) = 4.5 g/cm(2) is considered, where. is the fuel density, and r(b) is the ion beam focusing radius on the target. The results provide further insight into the contribution of the extra heat produced by deuteron beam-target fusion to the hot spot ignition process. A further analysis of how a converter foil using ultra-high-density cluster materials can help to achieve the yield requirements for ignition is presented.

A volumetrically-loaded ultra-high-density deuterium cluster material is described here for use as a deuteron beam source in laser matter interactions. Due to high volumetric loading, the material has potential to provide enough deuteron beam flux for the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) fuel ignition, avoiding depletion problem encountered by current proton-driven fast ignition (FI). In addition, accelerated deuterons can fuse with the ICF fuel (both D and T) to provide extra "bonus" energy gain, which further relaxes the laser-driver energy needed Preliminary TRIDENT sub-Petawatt Laser experiments have provided some encouraging results showing that our cluster foils with a relative low packing fraction, can achieve a high yield of the accelerated deuterons even in the presence of an unwanted surface contaminant.

Use of laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) for space propulsion has been examined in several earlier conceptual design studies. However, these designs used older ICF target technology. Important new directions opened following the development of “chirped” lasers capable of ultra-short ps pulses with powers of PWs. This allows fast ignition (FI) for high energy gain ICF power plants. The FI approach uses a conventional laser to precompress the target to high density. In the deuteron beam version, the PW laser is then fired on a converter plate in front of the ICF target, creating an intense deuteron ion beam that ignites fusion in a central core of the target. It is estimated that using a 10 TW-ps laser for FI can achieve fusion energy gains >103. Application of deuteron beam fast ignition to the earlier VISTA design for ICF space propulsion unit is considered here.

Plasma block acceleration by 10 20 cm/s 2 was measured first by Sauerbrey as predicted from nonlinear (ponderomotive) force interaction by picoseconds laser pulses of higher than TW power if an extremely high contrast ratio prevented relativistic self-focusing [1]. This permitted the a fusion-flame ignition of solid density deuterium tritium according to Chu and Bobin [2] and finally the possibility to use hydrogen-boron11 (HB11)fuel with laser pulses in the multipetawatt range [3] based on hydrodynamic computations. Fusion energy is then produced by less radioactivity emission than from burning coal. In order to study the enormous electric fields of the highly inhomogeneous flame, the genuine two-fluid hydrodynamics is applied and reported that a shock process is generated propagating in the uncompressed fuel after the initiation by the ps laser pulse. This is related to the shock ignition of fusion [4], however in contrast to the usual thermal pressure dominated shocks, now driven by non-thermal direct conversion of the laser energy into plasma motion by the nonlinear force.

This paper reviews new and previous theoretical and experimental studies of the possibility of nuclear events in clusters created in multilayer thin film electrodes, including the correlation between excess heat, transmutations, and the cluster theory that predicts it. As a result of this added understanding of cluster reactions, a new class of electrodes is under study. These electrodes are designed to enhance cluster formation and subsequent reactions. Two approaches are under development. The first employs improved loading– unloading techniques, intended to obtain a higher volumetric density of sites favoring cluster formation. The second is designed to achieve Rydberg Matters. Various methods of exciting (triggering) cluster reactions are also discussed. Based on these insights, the design of Low-energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) power cells is proposed. While still in the research stage, this approach promises ultimate development of “green” nuclear powered “batteries” offering remarkable energy densities well beyond present technology.

An extreme anomaly of laser-plasma interaction with petawatt-picosecond (PW-ps) pulses of very high contrast ratio for suppression of relativistic self-focusing permitted a come-back of the Bobin-Chu side-on ignition of uncompressed deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion fuel. The plasma blocks for the side-on ignition have to be produced by the well confirmed nonlinear force acceleration which is about 100,000 times higher than thermo-kinetic fluid-dynamic acceleration for comparison with astrophysical cases. It is essential that the dielectric plasma properties within the nonlinear force are used. Using the measured ion beam densities above 10(11) A s/cm(2) the ignition mechanism needed numerical and theoretical studies of extremely strong shock phenomena. When extending these results to the side-on ignition of uncompressed hydrogen-boron11 (HB11), surprisingly, the ignition by this shock mechanism was only about 10 times more difficult than for DT in contrast to ignition by spherical laser driven compression using thermo-kinetic conditions in which case HB11 ignition is 100,000 times more difficult than DT.

Experimental results and related arrangements are reported from application of the TRIDENT laser with pulses of 250TW power and about 500fs duration interacting with targets with cluster loading at extremely high contrast ratio.

In addition to the matured "laser inertial fusion energy" with spherical compression and thermal ignition of deuteriumtritium (DT), a very new alternative for the fast ignition scheme may have now been opened by using side-on block ignition aiming beyond the DT-fusion with igniting the neutron-free reaction of proton-boron-11 (p-B-11). Measurements with laser pulses of terawatt power and ps duration led to the discovery of an anomaly of interaction, if the prepulses are cut off by a factor 10(8) (contrast ratio) to avoid relativistic self focusing in agreement with preceding computations. Applying this to petawatt (PW) pulses for Bobin-Chu conditions of side-on ignition of solid fusion fuel results after several improvements in energy gains of 10,000. This is in contrast to the impossible laser-ignition of p-B-11 by the usual spherical compression and thermal ignition. The side-on ignition is less than ten times only more difficult than for DT ignition. This is essentially based on the instant and direct conversion the optical laser energy by the nonlinear force into extremely high plasma acceleration. Genuine two-fluid hydrodynamic computations for DT are presented showing details how ps laser pulses generate a fusion flame in solid state density with an increase of the density in the thin flame region. Densities four times higher are produced automatically confirming a Rankine-Hugoniot shock wave process with an increasing thickness of the shock up to the nanosecond range and a shock velocity of 1500 km/s which is characteristic for these reactions.

The utilization of hydrogen fuel cells is considered as a key means to reduce green house emission and increase energy use efficiency for both commercial and military applications. However, a major drawback of using hydrogen to power a fuel cell is storage procedures. If this is overcome, the advances of a hydrogen fuel cell economy could be fully realized. Current methods of storing hydrogen in a gaseous or liquid form do not offer the energy density of conventional gasoline per unit volume, and these means are problematic with respect to support systems and potential fire and safety hazards. The storage of hydrogen in metal hydrides is another method that has received considerable research over the past 3-4 decades, but the gravimetric storage densities have reached a plateau of about 3-6 percent by weight. Recent advances with nano-materials have shown the potential for significant enhancements to hydrogen storage with respect to storage density and also related logistics such as pressure and kinetics of hydrogen delivery. In this study, we propose to achieve improved hydrogen storage capacity of nanoparticles by forming Ultra-High-Density Hydrogen (UHDH) nanoclusters. The prospect is that this approach will break the current hydrogen storage plateau, and reach weight percentages much above 6%.

Fast Ignition (FI) is recognized as a potentially promising approach to achieve the high-energy-gain target performance needed for commercial inertial confinement fusion. Here we consider deuteron beam driven FI which provides not only the “hot spot” ignition spark, but also extra “bonus” fusion energy through reactions in the target. In this study, we estimate the impact of the added deposition energy due to the fusion reactions occurring, based on calculations using a modified energy multiplication factor Fc. The deuteron beam energy deposition range and time are also evaluated in order to estimate the desired deuteron initial energy. It is shown that an average of 30% extra energy can be gained from deuterons with 1 MeV initial energy and 12% from deuterons with 3 MeV initial energy. These results indicate that the energy benefit of this approach could be significant, but a much more comprehensive calculation is needed to realize a full 3D design for realistic experimental studies.

Our recent research has developed a technique for imbedding ultra high density deuterium "clusters" (D cluster) in Palladium (Pd) thin film. Experiments have shown that in Pd these condensed matter state clusters approach metallic conditions, exhibiting super conducting properties. This deuterium cluster is achieved through electrochemically loading-unloading deuterium into a thin metal film, such as Palladium (Pd). During the loading process, Palladium lattice expands significantly due to invasion of deuterium into the interstitial sites. With the large enough stress, some linear lattice imperfections, called dislocations, form at / transformation interface. These dislocation defects form a strong potential trap causing deuterium to condense. In the present study, a new method employing nano-structuring of the Pd is proposed to significantly improve the site density over the target volume, suggesting that a sizable region of the compressed target deuterium can reach densities an order of magnitude higher than possible with prior target designs. This improved cluster packing fraction will enable a significant increase of the fusion reaction burn density, hence the target burn-up efficiency.