| 摘要 |
A reactor core includes a host material with a fuel material interspersed therein. Preferably, the host material has a higher acoustic impedance than the fuel material so that acoustic energy applied to the reactor core at or near the resonance frequency of the core is refracted and concentrated in the fuel material thereby causing cavitation within the fuel material, and thereby preferentially forming microcavities in contact with the fuel material. Acoustic energy is applied to the core using various techniques, such as by coupling piezoelectric crystals to the solid core or by driving cavitation in a liquid medium surrounding the core. The temperatures attained within the collapsing microactivities in the core are sufficient to drive numerous reactions, including nuclear reactions, such as deuterium (D) + D reactions. The fuel material preferably includes a fuel component, such as D and/or tritium (T) or a compound including D and/or T. Neutron stripping reactions can also be driven by including a material having a high neutron cross section, e.g., gadolinium, as a component of the fuel and/or the host. Various powder metallurgy techniques are used for loading the host material with the fuel material. The density profile of the fuel material within the host material can be uniform or preferentially greater toward the center of the core. |
