Last October, LPPFusion Chief Scientist Eric Lerner attended a conference on Hydrogen-Boron Fusion in Prague and proposed a collaboration with other groups in simulating key phenomena in fusion plasma. Now the first such collaboration has begun with Arun Kumar, research scholar from Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India. Kumar will be working with Lerner to study the quantum magnetic field effect, (QMFE), an effect that is key to getting net energy production with hydrogen-boron fuel.
The QMFE is a well-understood effect that will help to keep the fusion plasma at the billions-of degrees temperatures needed to burn hydrogen-boron fuel. X-rays emitted by electrons cool the plasma. Because of the five electric charges on the boron nuclei, the electrons interact more strongly with these ions and cool the plasma faster than with pure hydrogen. But the strong magnetic fields in the tiny plasmoid in FF-2B generate a quantum-mechanical effect that greatly slows down the heating of the electrons by the ions. Since the electrons don’t get very hot, they radiate far fewer x-rays and cool the plasma far less than without QMFE.
LPPFusion’s published calculations show that QMFE allows production of more fusion energy out than is put into the entire FF-2B fusion device. But these published calculations involve a number of approximations. A simulation is a much more detailed calculation that can, potentially, provide much more exact and reliable results.
Kumar has been working with a well-tested plasma simulation program, using it to simulate a laser-based fusion approach. In this approach, an ultra-fast laser hits a “pitcher” target, generating an intense beam of protons. This beam then enters the “catcher” target containing boron, where hydrogen -boron fusion reactions take place. While LPPFusion’s approach involves no lasers, our plasmoid do contain high-energy protons, so have conditions that are “similar” to the catcher target that Kumar has been simulating.
In the new collaboration, the QMFE will be included, altering the formulae that calculate energy transfer between the electrons and ions. We’ll first see what difference this makes to the existing “catcher” simulations. In the following steps, the conditions in the situation will be altered to more closely imitate conditions that we expect in upcoming hydrogen boron tests in FF-2B. If we get the simulations working by the time of these tests in the coming months, we can gain insights into what’s happening inside the plasmoid and how to get more fusion reactions. We’ll also be able to see how good the simulations are in predicting the results of the experiments—a key test of any simulation.