



So far, the use of controlled nuclear fusion has been beyond the technical capabilities of humans. However, this team of international scientists has produced computer models that indicate nuclear fusion is possible with a fuel source of hydrogen (H)/boron-11 (B) and high-tech laser systems recently developed.They say that nuclear fusion is possible and some day could produce clean, sustainable electricity from nuclear power sources without radioactivity. It might become more possible to achieve and come about quicker using the process that they suggest.The scientists behind this research and important announcement are:'¢ Australian scientist Heinrich Hora (Department of Theoretical Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia);'¢ American scientist George H. Miley (Department of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A.);'¢ Iranian scientists M. Ghoranneviss, B. Malekynia, and N. Azizi (all from Plasma Physics Research Centre, Science and Research Branch, I. A. University, Tehran-Poonak, Iran) and;'¢ Chinese scientist Xian-Tu. He (Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, China)Currently, we are only able to produce electricity from one general type of nuclear power process: nuclear fission, where a nuclear reaction occurs in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts.The splitting of the nucleus produces large amounts of energy, but also produces a lot of radioactivity in the form of nuclear waste materials.An example of a nuclear power plant that uses fission to produce electricity is the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States.This nuclear power station uses nuclear fission reactions to power electric utility reactors that heat water to produce steam, which then generates electricity. In addition to land-based nuclear power stations, many submarines and ships use nuclear fission propulsion systems. Spacecraft have also been sent to deep space with the use of nuclear fission.

Page two continues with more on nuclear fusion and, specifically, with this revised approach to controlling fusion.





However, if we had our choice, scientists and engineers would much rather use nuclear fusion to generate electricity. Nuclear fusion involves a nuclear reaction in which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together (rather than splitting apart, as in fission) to form a heavier nucleus.Such a nuclear process does not produce very much radioactivity (when compared to fission, which produces a lot) and it has the potential to be much safer and cleaner than nuclear fission.These scientists have published a paper, first appearing online on March 23, 2010, in the journal Energy and Environmental Science (Energy Environ. Sci., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/b904609g) that summarizes their computer modeling work on using nuclear fusion with the use of ultra-high power lasers.The paper is entitled ' Fusion energy without radioactivity: laser ignition of solid hydrogen-boron (11) fuel .'They propose that ultra-high power lasers could produce power levels that ''¦ are about 1000 times the power of all the power stations in the USA.' [Paper]The scientists involved with the study state that the process avoids 'any radioactive radiation above the level of burning coal.' [Paper]And, they say that the production of such an enormous amount of energy brings about the possibility of developing inertial confinement fusion systems.Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) systems use nuclear fusion reactors to heat and (often times in the past) compress an energy source, usually fuel pellets consisting of deuterium and tritium.

Page three continues with more on their paper.

The abstract to their paper states, 'This [research] opens the way to new approaches for inertial confinement fusions (ICF) that in turn can drastically reduce the laser input energy needed to achieve practical ICF power.'It goes on to explain, 'The specific approach discussed here involves inducing a fusion burn wave by laser-driven impact of a relatively large block of plasma on the outside of a solid density fusion target.'And, 'This new method is specifically selected to enable the extremely attractive, but demanding, neutron-free proton-B-11 fusion that potentially can lead to the long sought goal of an ultra clean fusion power plant.'The March 24, 2010 RSC Publishing article ' Nuclear power without radioactivity ' states that, 'Conventionally, the fusion process occurs with deuterium and tritium as fuel. The fuel is spherically compressed - meaning compression occurs from all directions - with laser irradiation to 1000 times its solid state density. This ignites the fuel, producing helium atoms, energy and neutrons which cause radiation.'Compression of fuel takes a lot of energy, which is why other fuels have not been used in the past.However, these scientists suggest that fusion is possible with another type of fuel'”and compression of the fuel is not needed.They state in their abstract that, 'Fusion is also possible with hydrogen and boron-11, and this could produce cleaner energy as it does not release neutrons.' (Actually: (almost) no neutrons are produced, so (almost) no radioactivity results.)

Page four continues with more quotes from the abstract.

In the past, the use of hydrogen and boron-11 required much more energy in order to initiate the nuclear fusion reaction. Consequently, this type of fuel has remained less popular with scientists as a power source for nuclear fusion.That may change in the future because new laser technologies have been recently developed that make hydrogen/boron-11 more attractive to nuclear scientists. And both hydrogen and boron-11 are abundantly found in and around the Earth.Consequently, this team of scientists, lead by Dr. Hora, from University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, used computer models to show that new laser technologies have the potential ability to produce ''¦ short but high energy pulses '¦ to ignite hydrogen/boron-11 fuel using side-on ignition.' [RSC Publishing]The high-energy pulses could then theoretically be used to crate a 'plasma block' that produces a 'high-density ion beam.' And, this ion beam ignites the fuel without it having to be compressed (which takes a lot of energy).Their paper states, 'This remarkable approach is made possible by using laser pulses of picosecond (ps) duration and several petawatt (PW) power to burn hydrogen-boron 11 (H-11B) fusion fuels.'And, 'This fuel uses plentiful light hydrogen (H) and the boron isotope 11 (H-11B, or alternately termed p-11B) reaction which yields energetic charged particles without generating neutrons.'(Remember, neutrons produced means radioactivity is produced, and we don't want that to occur.)Compression isn't used because, as the authors explain, 'The usual laser compression developed for burning deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel cannot be used for H-11B because densities of 100 000 times the solid are needed.'Rather than using fuel compression, the scientists are proposing another technique: side-on ignition.

Page five concludes: Is this new process something that we can develop tomorrow, or does it have a ways to go?





The scientists talk about this "side-on ignition" process further in their abstract. They state,'Instead, the alternative laser fusion scheme of side-on ignition with uncompressed fuel is proposed to enable ignition of the H-11B fuel along with PW laser interactions."

Specifically, "This approach employs a recently discovered laser-plasma interaction technique that uses very high contrast ratio laser pulses (i.e. pulses nearly free from pre-pulses). Plasma blocks of modest temperature are generated causing highly directed ion current densities above 1010 A cmâˆ’2. This new ignition process is termed 'side-on block ignition''....'



Dr. Hora explains, ''It was a surprise when we used hydrogen-boron instead of deuterium-tritium. It was not 100 000 times more difficult, it was only ten times.' [RSC Publication]



This result indicates that using hydrogen-boron-11, instead of deuterium-tritium, along with newly developed laser technologies, could be a much better way to eventually produce controlled nuclear fusion.



Within the RSC Publishing article, U.S. nuclear fusion expert Steve Haan, who is with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California, is quoted to have said, ''¦ there's a fair amount of work to do before this technology is at hand.'



The article concludes with the following statement about using this fusion technology tomorrow or even the day after. It states, 'Hora agrees that much more work is needed to fully understand this radical new approach. Its achievement will depend on continued advances in laser optics, target physics and power conversion technology.'



