Bubble Fusion takes next hurdle

The potential for cavitation to induce nuclear fusion lets physicists think in new directions of energy production. In 2002 the journal “Science” caused a heated debate among scientists, when it was claimed that thermonuclear fusion was indeed possible in a simple table-top experiment. Until then only nuclear fusion in experimental reactors as big as houses were scientifically accepted.

A second publication by the same team in “Physical Review E” (2004) convinced more scientists that there was something to cavitation-induced fusion. Now a confirmation of Bubble Fusion by a second group has been published. The discussion of a potential energy source now takes a new round.

When acetone – better known as nail polish remover – is ultrasonically resonated and irradiated by neutrons, nuclear fusion will occur. That is the claim of the two young physicists Dr. Yiban Xu and Adam Butt from the American Purdue University.

“Cavitation is the phenomenon in which liquid is fractured and a void is formed to form cavities composed of gas and/or vapour”, explains Xu. If the acetone is put into resonance using a piezo-crystal, gas bubbles are formed which subsequently store potential energy in the acoustic field. To ensure that the bubbles get larger than a critical value, the acetone must additionally be bombarded by energetic neutrons. “Once the bubbles implode, that potential energy will convert into kinetic energy, compressing the gas inside the bubble”, says Xu.

source: http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/20/20542/1.html