Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion
Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion (also antiproton-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion) is a variation of nuclear pulse propulsion based upon the injection of antimatter into a mass of nuclear fuel to initiate a nuclear chain reaction for propulsion when the fuel does not normally have a critical mass.
Technically, the process is not a '"catalyzed'" reaction because
Description
Typical nuclear pulse propulsion has the downside that the minimal size of the engine is defined by the minimal size of the
By injecting a small amount of
The lower limit of the device size is determined by anti-proton handling issues and fission reaction requirements, such as the structure used to contain and direct the blast. As such, unlike either the Project Orion-type propulsion system, which requires large numbers of nuclear explosive charges, or the various antimatter drives, which require impossibly expensive amounts of antimatter, antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion has intrinsic advantages.[3]
A conceptual design of an antimatter-catalyzed thermonuclear explosive
Amount needed for thermonuclear device
The number of antiprotons required for triggering one thermonuclear explosion were calculated in 2005 to be 1018, which means microgram amounts of antihydrogen.[7]
Tuning of the performance of a space vehicle is also possible. Rocket efficiency is strongly related to the mass of the working mass used, which in this case is the nuclear fuel. The energy released by a given mass of fusion fuel is several times larger than that released by the same mass of a fission fuel. For missions requiring short periods of high thrust, such as crewed interplanetary missions, pure microfission might be preferred because it reduces the number of fuel elements needed. For missions with longer periods of higher efficiency but with lower thrust, such as outer-planet probes, a combination of microfission and fusion might be preferred because it would reduce the total fuel mass.
Research
The concept was invented at Pennsylvania State University before 1992. Since then, several groups have studied antimatter-catalyzed micro fission/fusion engines in the lab.[8] Work has been performed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on antiproton-initiated fusion as early as 2004.[9] In contrast to the large mass, complexity and recirculating power of conventional drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF), antiproton annihilation offers a specific energy of 90 MJ/μg and thus a unique form of energy packaging and delivery. In principle, antiproton drivers could provide a profound reduction in system mass for advanced space propulsion by ICF.
Antiproton-driven ICF is a speculative concept, and the handling of antiprotons and their required injection precision—temporally and spatially—will present significant technical challenges. The storage and manipulation of low-energy antiprotons, particularly in the form of antihydrogen, is a science in its infancy, and a large scale-up of antiproton production over present supply methods would be required to embark on a serious R&D programme for such applications.
A record for antimatter storage of just over 1000 seconds, performed in the CERN facility, during 2011, was at the time a monumental leap from the millisecond timescales that previously were achievable.[10]
Total world-wide production of anti-protons in a period of a year is in the range of nanograms. The anti-matter trap (Mark 1 version) at
See also
References
- ^ Kircher, Scott. "fissionfusion". ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu (University Alaska Fairbanks). Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "catalysis noun". www.merriam-webster.com (Merriam-Webster). Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Kircher. "Antimatter: Fission/Fusion Drive". Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ David Olson, Pat Lee (June 3, 2010). "Nuclear Fusion. Chemical Explanation". Page 11.
- ^ "Types of Nuclear Weapons". The Nuclear Weapon Archive. 1.5.3 The Alarm Clock/Sloika (Layer Cake) Design.
- ^ Andre Gsponer, Jean-Pierre Hurni. "Antimatter weapons". Centre Universitaire d'Informatique. Université de Genève. Figure 2: Antimatter triggered hydrogne bomb.
- arXiv:physics/0507125.
- ^ "Antiproton-Catalyzed Microfission/Fusion Propulsion Systems For Exploration Of The Outer Solar System And Beyond" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- S2CID 250744699. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- S2CID 17151882.
- ^ Obousy, Richard K. "Project Icarus: Antimatter Catalyzed Fusion Propulsion For Interstellar Missions Part 3. Antimatter Catalyzed Fusion Propulsion For Interstellar Missions" (PDF). www.icarusinterstellar.org (Icarus Interstellar Inc.). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
External links
- Page discussing the possibility of using antimatter as a trigger for a thermonuclear explosion
- Paper discussing the number of antiprotons required to ignite a thermonuclear weapon.