Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #532
    belbear42
    Participant

    In the many online explanations of the p-11B fusion reaction it is stated that at the moment of fusion, a carbon-12 nucleus is formed for one fleeting moment, which then decays into three helium-4 nuclei.

    Now I wonder what is wrong with this newborn carbon-12 nucleus, that it falls apart by spontaneous fission instead of just shedding any surplus energy through a gamma ray as so many nuclei do when they get “excited”

    Isn’t carbon-12 the stable, most ordinary, life-bearing, kitchen&garden, crude-oil, diamonds-are-a-girls-best-friend kind of carbon isotope we are all made from?

    I’m obviously missing something important here so can anyone explain?

    Chris

    #3105
    Lerner
    Participant

    When the p and B11 nuclei merge, the C12 nucleus has too much excess energy to stay together. Think of two drops of water merging at high speed–they stay to gether only breifly, but the merged drop vibrates so violently it breaks apart–into the three helium nuclei. An isomer is an excited state of a given nucleus.

    #3108
    belbear42
    Participant

    Lerner wrote: When the p and B11 nuclei merge, the C12 nucleus has too much excess energy to stay together. Think of two drops of water merging at high speed–they stay to gether only breifly, but the merged drop vibrates so violently it breaks apart–into the three helium nuclei. An isomer is an excited state of a given nucleus.

    I see. Thanks for the explanation.

    #3147
    Tasmodevil44
    Participant

    It’s too bad you can’t actually use the most ordinary common garden variety C-12 for a nuclear fuel by energetically agitating it by some other as yet undiscovered means. Now that would really be an incredible breakthrough. So far, ordinary carbon can’t do much. If you try to bombard it with neutrons to try and make carbon fission like uranium, it will absorb more neutrons than new ones released, causing any potential chain reaction to wind down to a stop. Some physicists have likened it to trying to burn wet wood. If only……if only……if only a new practical way to energetically agitate and destabilize the C-12 nucleus could be discovered. If not, then focus fusion by absorption of a hydrogen proton is still the only way.

    #3540
    Tasmodevil44
    Participant

    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 ! ! !

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.