Perhaps if you could bombard an ordinary C12 carbon atom with some kind of exotic subatomic particle that acts like a catalyst……or even a particle of anti – matter coming in contact with a stable atom like C12 might partially annhiliate it’s nucleus……and excite and destabilize the rest of it enough to break apart. It’s unlikely that such a new exotic kind of nuclear energy could be made to work. But you sure could get one heck of a lot more energy out of a lump of coal than to burn it the conventional way ! ! !
