by Rick Badman

Created on: June 24, 2009

When I designed a fission/fusion reactor in 1977, I thought for sure we would have fusion power by the end of the 20th century. My reactor uses a fission reactor to produce the particles needed to change hydrogen into heavy hydrogen, produce the particle beams that will heat the mass, and create the gravitational fields that will compress the heavy hydrogen and produce a fusion reaction in the reaction chamber.

People forget that not just hydrogen can be fused into a heavier element. Thanks to hyperlight physics, virtually any atom can be fused into a heavier atom and have energy liberated. The sun can fuse lighter elements into heavier atoms like iron. But as far as I know, uranium isn't fused inside the sun and spewed out. For some reason it was created and is at the heart of the earth's core.

If a hyperlight-speed reaction is used, the hyperaccelerated particles will be used to fuse lighter elements into heavier ones and liberate energy to form a plasma to heat water or gas in steam generators to produce electricity. Hyperlight-speed particles will acquire enough mass to prevent the fusion reaction from becoming a thermonuclear explosion. If hyperlight physics proves to be workable, fusion power should follow quickly.

Let's say hyperlight physics becomes possible by 2040. Fusion reactors should become possible by 2045 if not sooner. A hyperlight speed reaction is fast enough and powerful enough to keep the reactor together instead of producing a city-destroying explosion. Fusion reactions could sustain hyperlight-speed reactions. For spacecraft, fusion or maybe fission/fusion reactors will power them and allow them to exceed the speed of light. Since particles are often coupled with other particles to prevent repulsion, decoupling will be required so that particles will repel off of other particles. As they are hyperaccelerated, their energy mass increases. it will be as if solid energy has been produced. It would be lighter than lead and possibly provide better protection from explosions and radiation.

With hyperlight physics, water can become a plasma, fused into fluorine with the addition of neutrons, and shot through the cyclotron as a plasma to heat water or a gas in the pipes of the steam generator to generate electricity. So fusion reactors might be easier to build and fuel than what is being worked on today.

Someday, kids will build fusion reactors for science fair projects. That may be before the end of this century. It just depends on if my technology works and if researchers want to produce a self-sustaining fusion reaction. If hyperlight physics is used, the reactor might be small enough to place on a table and enough electricity to power the school where the science fair is being held will be generated.

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