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Could this startup's compact nuclear reactors revolutionize cancer detection?

3 points by pujjad 2y ago

PaulHoule 2y ago
It is little realized, but fusion reactors are a great source of high energy neutrons and could be commercially useful for that long before they are useful as an energy source.
pinewurst 2y ago
Not seeing how this is much better than the Farnsworth "fusors". Essentially it's a neutron generator, not anywhere near breakeven much less copious power surplus.
- pujjad 2y ago
  Huge difference. Fusors are just Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion devices. This one here adds lattice confinement fusion to it (see NASA Glenn Research two Phys Rev C papers in 2023), ie you reach fuel densities 6 to 8 orders of magnitudes higher than in a plasma as you exploit electron screening in your metal lattice, plus binary packing in specific metal alloys. Anyone can build a fusor in a kitchen, but these guys combine two entirely different fusion mechanisms (IEC+LFC) which hasn't been done before. That way you get minimum 1E11 DT neutrons/s at source, and even higher fluxes once you start optimising the materials involved. A hard 14 MeV DT neutron generator with that high flux? A golden opportunity for testing future materialsand electronics in a harsh fusion environment. A fusor does 1E6 n/s at best, and that'd be 2.45 MeV DD neutrons only, because obtaining a Tritium license is not trivial.
  - pujjad 2y ago
    And yes you're right, it's a neutron generator. They don't claim to ever achieving break even, or even power surplus. No fusion startup will ever do in my view. Combining that neutron generator with active material, now we're talking. That's a sub critical ultra compact hybrid reactor, which becomes super critical by pressing a button. And sub critical again with another press. That's the future and the reason why some folks at NASA want to get hold of one for their future space mission
ai-christianson 2y ago
Cancer research, and disease research in general, is IMO one of the most promising things we could do with massive amounts of compute and energy.

3 points by pujjad 2y ago

It is little realized, but fusion reactors are a great source of high energy neutrons and could be commercially useful for that long before they are useful as an energy source.

pinewurst 2y ago

Not seeing how this is much better than the Farnsworth "fusors". Essentially it's a neutron generator, not anywhere near breakeven much less copious power surplus.

pujjad 2y ago
Huge difference. Fusors are just Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion devices. This one here adds lattice confinement fusion to it (see NASA Glenn Research two Phys Rev C papers in 2023), ie you reach fuel densities 6 to 8 orders of magnitudes higher than in a plasma as you exploit electron screening in your metal lattice, plus binary packing in specific metal alloys. Anyone can build a fusor in a kitchen, but these guys combine two entirely different fusion mechanisms (IEC+LFC) which hasn't been done before. That way you get minimum 1E11 DT neutrons/s at source, and even higher fluxes once you start optimising the materials involved. A hard 14 MeV DT neutron generator with that high flux? A golden opportunity for testing future materialsand electronics in a harsh fusion environment. A fusor does 1E6 n/s at best, and that'd be 2.45 MeV DD neutrons only, because obtaining a Tritium license is not trivial.
- pujjad 2y ago
  And yes you're right, it's a neutron generator. They don't claim to ever achieving break even, or even power surplus. No fusion startup will ever do in my view. Combining that neutron generator with active material, now we're talking. That's a sub critical ultra compact hybrid reactor, which becomes super critical by pressing a button. And sub critical again with another press. That's the future and the reason why some folks at NASA want to get hold of one for their future space mission

ai-christianson 2y ago

Cancer research, and disease research in general, is IMO one of the most promising things we could do with massive amounts of compute and energy.