Alternative Energy – CrossFire Fusor

Nuclear fusion takes place when light atomic nucleus collides with each other to combine to form a heavier atomic nucleus releasing a tremendous amount of energy. For fusion reactions to take place are needed kinetic energy and confinement to achieve collisions at the required rate. Nuclear fusion reactions have an energy density many times greater than nuclear fission. The nuclear fission involving uranium-235 and plutonium-239 produce more radiation hazards and radioactive waste than a conventional neutronic nuclear fusion involving deuterium and tritium, and the conventional neutronic nuclear fusion produce more neutrons than an aneutronic nuclear fusion involving boron hydrides, helium-3 and lithium hydrides, which products are a non-radioactive waste helium-4. Both release millions of times more energy than chemical reactions.

The CrossFire Fusor is a nuclear fusion reactor designed by Moacir L. Ferreira Jr. for fusing atomic nucleus in order to produce enormous quantities of energy without pollution and no neutron hazards.

This fusion reactor is comprised by six superconducting magnets disposed to form a magnetic cusp region in where positive ions are injected. At the magnetic cusp region is applied a negative voltage and at the opposite end of each magnet is applied a positive voltage. The ions are accelerated electrostatically towards the negative potential passing through the magnetic cusp reaching the chamber interior, where the ions are confined radially by magnetic fields and longitudinally by electric fields, that is a three-dimensional confinement. The ion injection is done continuously surrounding the magnetic cusp region to perform a three-dimensional injection. The positive voltage confines only reactants allowing the products from the fusion reactions to escape.

The ions are injected with great kinetic energy (600KeV), but in small quantities, and calculations are done for the magnetic and electric fields to confine the ionized plasma, keeping it away from the chamber walls.

The CrossFire Fusor was based on stellated polyhedrons, accelerating electrostatically reactants inwardly to the central edges and products escaping at peripheral vertices after overcoming the confinement of electric fields.

Although this reactor uses electrostatic acceleration like the Farnsworth–Hirsch Fusor, it doesn’t have a central-grid to cause losses. Then the ions, under electrostatic acceleration, can reach great kinetic energy with inexpressive energy consumption. Also, there is no recirculation of electrons to induce excessive electromagnetic radiation.

Due to use of electrostatic acceleration, the CrossFire Fusor is able to fuse not only conventional fuels such as deuterium-tritium, but also aneutronic fuels like boron hydrides, helium-3 and lithium hydrides. Aneutronic fusion reactions release millions of times more energy than the fossil fuels, almost not emit neutrons and the products of the reaction is mainly helium-4 that is safe and clean.

The fusion reaction products are positively charged which can be deflected by magnetic and electric fields. Then a conversion to electricity is relatively simple. The conversion is done during the neutralization by a positive electric voltage to slow down and an electron gun to neutralize. The current of electrons and the electric voltage is equal to electric power (P=V×I).

CrossFire Fusor provides solutions for two drawbacks that are common to nuclear fusion:
1. Ionic saturation, excess of ions in the chamber, which could be solved by a stronger superconducting magnet, by decreasing the specific ionization of the plasma and by having an adequate escape mechanism.
2. Electromagnetic radiation losses, that could be reduced by a reflective internal coating in order to reflect the electromagnetic radiation back to the plasma.

The advantages of the CrossFire Fusor over others fusion approaches are:
1. Three-dimensional injection and confinement, which increase the probability and velocity of the fusion reactions.
2. Escape mechanism, which reduces the ionic saturation and instabilities of energy, and provides both with efficiency, propulsion and electricity generation.
3. A method for electricity conversion that can exceed 95% of efficiency.
4. Simple and consistent calculations, which give a reasonable degree of predictability.

As an alternative source of energy, this fusion reactor could replace the 10 billion tons/year of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels to only 7600 tons/year of clean, inert, safe and light helium gas, which can reduce drastically the Global Warming Problem.