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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Phys.
Sec. Fusion Plasma Physics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2024.1438880
This article is part of the Research Topic Proton Boron Nuclear Fusion: From Energy Production to Medical Applications View all 4 articles

Preparations for pB11 Tests in the FF-2B Dense Plasma Focus

Provisionally accepted
Eric Lerner Eric Lerner *Syed Hassan Syed Hassan
  • LPPFusion, Middlesex,NJ, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The dense plasma focus (DPF) device has great potential as a fusion energy generator using hydrogenboron (pB11) fuel 1 . Experiments using deuterium have already demonstrated mean ion energies >200 keV, in the range needed for burning pB11 2 . To test that potential, we are preparing for experiments with hydrogen-boron fuel in the megampere DPF device, FF-2B. We plan to use isotopically-pure decaborane (B10H14) as the fuel source and have installed equipment for the safe handling and disposal of the toxic vapors from this material. High isotopic purity of the boron-11 is required to avoid generation of radioactive Be-7. While the main pB11 fusion reaction produces no neutrons, two side reactions do produce both neutrons and radioactive C-11. We show how these reaction products can be used with suitable detectors to provide accurate data on fusion yield, and the density and ion energy of the confined fusion-producing plasma.

    Keywords: Aneutronic fusion, Hydrogen-boron fusion, dense plasma focus, Plasma diagnostics, fusion energy

    Received: 26 May 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lerner and Hassan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Eric Lerner, LPPFusion, Middlesex,NJ, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.