| 摘要 |
A reactor and method is disclosed that creates a stabilized, heated plasma a nd generates a large amount of thermal energy. The initial plasma may be create d by heating, either through combustion reactions and/or external heating mechanism, a fuel which is a source of hydrogen ions and air (or oxygen) inside the reactor chamber, and then locally ionizing the hot matter with an external source of radiation, such as a laser and/or an electrical discharge and/or microwave discharge. A gas vortex around the plasma mass may be maintained to control the plasma mass, shape, and location. When the reactio n is performed in the presence of certain mid-Z elements, such as lithium, beryllium, boron, nitrogen, or fluorine, the reactor is observed to generate a steady-state energy output up to and greater than 100 k W providing an energ y output at least a factor of about 1 and typically a factor of about 10 or greater than the energy input into the reactor that would be caused by conventional combustion of the fuels including the energy input from the external source of radiation.
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