Fermi fusion

[AntonioLao]

The most promising fusion reaction to date giving energy output per helium nucleus of 17.6 MeV is the deuterium-tritium combination. The plasma of positive deuterons, positive tritons, and negative electrons need their initial relative velocities high enough to breakaway the Coulomb potential barrier. However, fusion cannot occur unless the mean free path limit is set above 1 fermi and no more than 3 fermis. The difference of 2 fermis is the effectiveness of attractive strong nuclear force. Below 1 fermi the strong force is repulsive. Above 3 fermis it is practically zero. To reach the free path limit, a quadruple magnetic field is the ideal configuration with 2 sets of conjugate B-fields, one external and one internal. All of these can be individually controlled such that the radii of gyration approach within 2 fermis and the conjugates capable of giving positive and negative magnetic helicities. For second order perturbation, the electric and magnetic moments of the proton, neutron, and electron need detailed considerations. During the process, the neutrons must remain bound to the D-T nuclei. Nevertheless, one neutron will eventually be set free and if not captured within 15 minutes, it decays into another proton, another electron, and a neutrino. Still, it remains fuzzy whether the Fermi length could be derived from double time integrations given constant electric current with specific ion mass such that the integrand is the cross product of a radius vector and the magnetic field vector.

[michellemfry]

Hey Antonio,

Do you know what I found when going through family photos this last year? A picture of Enrico Fermi, James B. Conant, and my grandfather in the 1930's. Back then photos required the tripod and the hood. The only thing we could figure out was that during recruitment of Los Alomos personnel, they were on a road trip. My grandfather was a simple carpenter.

It is the preparation involved in taking a photograph back then that astounds me. He is gone now and I can't ask him how they all met. As a student of science, it is my most prized possession. If only I could ask Conant the details of the photograph, and have him sign it, life would be complete for me. These guys were legends to me. I don't even know if Conant is still alive. I know he was president of Harvard for awhile. What do you think? Should I try to write him?

[michellemfry]

Never mind. He died in 1978. All three people in the photo are dead. Two great scientists and my grandfather. The mystery remains.

[AntonioLao]

Now I know why Fermi came up with so many successful ideas about nuclear physics because he was getting help from a carpenter.