CAVITATION NUCLEAR REACTOR

摘要

A method and apparatus for driving nuclear reactions in a controlled manner within a cavitation nuclear reactor or CNR is provided. In general, the CNR is comprised of a solid material and, more particularly, comprised of a fuel material interspersed within a host material. The CNR can utilize any of a variety of different shapes. Energy, typically in the form of acoustic energy, is driven into the CNR with one or more drivers in order to create a pressure intensity pattern within the reactor. As a result of the pressure intensity pattern, at numerous locations within the reactor the energy is large enough to form small cavities or bubbles. Due to the phenomena of cavitation, the applied energy causes the newly formed bubbles to oscillate, undergoing a period of expansion followed by a period of bubble collapse. The velocity of the spherically converging material associated with the cavitation cycle, often times reaching supersonic velocities, is sufficient to achieve a density and temperature in excess of that required to drive a variety of different nuclear reactions including fusion, fission, spallation, and neutron stripping. If desired, an external heat source can be used to heat the material comprising the CNR, thereby promoting the desired nuclear reactions. In a specific embodiment, the CNR is driven at a frequency that either substantially matches a resonant frequency of the CNR or substantially matches an integer multiple of a resonant frequency.