A Pyro-Electric Crystal Particle Accelerator (Summer III) Chelsea L. Harris 1 Rand Watson 2 1. 2. Texas Southern University; Houston, Texas 77047 Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute; College Station, Texas 77843
Purpose Overall v. To optimize a pyro-electric crystal particle accelerator to accelerate deuterons to sufficient energies to initiate d + d fusion reactions. Immediate v. To continue modifications to the pyro-electric crystal particle accelerator to increase the neutron counting rate above background.
Mechanisms D +D 3 He + n (Q = 3. 3 Me. V) D+D T + p (Q = 4. 0 Me. V)
Tunneling Effect From R. Dunlap, The Phy. Of Nuc. And Part. (2004) 179.
Applications
Pyro-Electric Crystals
The Particle Accelerator
The Detector Systems
The Particle Accelerator
The Crystal and Mount Li. Ta 03
The Inner Chamber
The Inner Chamber
X-Ray Spectrum Run 10 H @ 1 m Torr D 2 – 7/10/07 Cu K-alpha Ca Ti Cr Cu K-beta “Pile-up Peaks”
X-Ray Spectrum Run 10 C @ 1 m Torr D 2 – 7/10/07 Fe kα Fe kβ S kα/kβ Zn kα Zn kβ Cd kα Cd kβ
Counts 76 Counts 49 Counts
Counts ~80 ke. V / 2 millitorr
What Now? • Vary current and pressure… • Attach a larger, more efficient neutron detector… • Use two pyro-electric crystals… • Reproduce results …
Acknowledgments v. Dr. Rand Watson v. National Science Foundation v. Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute v. Texas Southern University