First Light Fusion...Sonofusion Related USPTO Patent App

1st Official Post

    United States Patent Application -- 20150139378
    Published May 21, 2015
    LOCALISED ENERGY CONCENTRATION


    Abstract: A method of producing a localised concentration of energy including providing a pocket of gas in a non-gaseous medium and in contact with a surface. The surface includes a depression shaped so as to at least partially receive the pocket of gas. A static pressure is applied to the non-gaseous medium, with an average value greater than atmospheric pressure such that the pocket of gas collapses to form a transverse jet. The surface depression is arranged to receive the transverse jet impact such that at least some of pocket of gas is trapped between the impacting jet and the surface depression. An apparatus for producing a localised concentration of energy is also provided.
    http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20150139378.PGNR.&OS=dn/20150139378&RS=DN/20150139378



    [...] TECHNICAL FIELD


    [0001] This invention relates to methods and apparatuses for producing very high localised energies. It relates particularly, although not exclusively, to generating localised energies high enough to cause nuclear fusion.


    BACKGROUND


    [0002] The development of fusion power has been an area of massive investment of time and money for many years. This investment has been largely centred on developing a large scale fusion reactor, at great cost. However, there are other theories that predict much simpler and cheaper mechanisms for creating fusion. Of interest here is the umbrella concept "inertial confinement fusion", which uses mechanical forces (such as shock waves) to concentrate and focus energy into very small areas.
    [...]


    A URL for a previous patent application is at the thread -
    New Sonofusion Patent Application

    Fyodor32768,


    Good find.


    Since they are a spin off of Oxford, my guess is that they are credible, and
    probably have some experimental data, if not a prototype.


    My interpretation is that they will use nano-structured surfaces to initiate the
    formation of the "jets" formed by the collapsing bubbles.

    • Official Post

    Sonofusion for me is interesting as it is a lower cost hotfusion technology.
    Hot fusion with known LENR may only be interesting as a source of energetic neutrons, for transmutations.


    if the LENR biological transmutation are not working as it seems from Vysotskii experiments, as it seems from some japanese nanoparticle experiments, then classical neutron induced transmutations may be an alternative solution to transmute long life radioactive wastes.


    It can also be interesting for scientific purpose, why not to explain LENR.
    At least it is less expensive than NIF and ITER.

    “Only puny secrets need keeping. The biggest secrets are kept by public incredulity.” (Marshall McLuhan)
    twitter @alain_co

    Like 1


    As far as I can tell from the patent and website, they've seen increases in turbulence and pressure but no excess heat or transmutation. In terms of "credible" I don't think that they're frauds or anything, but there's not any real reason *yet* to think anything will come of it.

    Fyodor2^15,


    Yes. However, I imagine that they would not have proceeded without any experimental evidence at all,
    unless they are only intending to use the process for industrial applications.


    Lots of interesting anomalies, though. One report by General Fusion that I found interesting --
    "D-D FUSION NEUTRONS FROM A STRONG SPHERICAL SHOCK WAVE FOCUSED ON A DEUTERIUM BUBBLE IN WATER"
    http://www.uxc.com/smr/Library%5CDesign Specific/General Fusion/Presentations/Fusion Neutrons from a Strong Spherical Shock Wave Focused on a Deuterium Bubble in Water.pdf


    Especially interesting are slides 52-4 which may indicate evidence of slow neutron capture.

    A new sonofusion related patent application from Isis Innovation Ltd ----


    LOCALISED ENERGY CONCENTRATION - USPTO Patent 20160012921 - Jan. 14,2016


    ABSTRACT: A method of producing a localised concentration of energy includes: creating a shockwave propagating through a non-gaseous medium so as to be incident upon a boundary between the non-gaseous medium and a gaseous medium formed by at least one hole in a barrier separating the non-gaseous medium from a gaseous medium. This forms a transverse jet on the other side of the hole which is incident upon a target surface comprising a depression which is spaced from the barrier in the gaseous medium. An apparatus for producing a localised concentration of energy is also described.
    http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=56&p=2&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=(energy.AB.+AND+20160114.PD.)&OS=abst/energy+AND+pd/1/14/2016&RS=(ABST/energy+AND+PD/20160114)


    This company is owned by University of Oxford --- isis-innovation.com/
    Excerpt from the 'Description' section ---
    TECHNICAL FIELD
    [0002] This disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for producing very high localised energies. It relates particularly, although not exclusively, to generating localised energies high enough to cause nuclear fusion.


    BACKGROUND
    [0003] The development of fusion power has been an area of massive investment of time and money for many years. This investment has been largely centred on developing a large scale fusion reactor, at great cost. However, there are other theories that predict much simpler and cheaper mechanisms for creating fusion. Of interest here is the umbrella concept "inertial confinement fusion", which uses mechanical forces (such as shock waves) to concentrate and focus energy into very small volumes.

    A new amended version of previous patent application --
    LOCALISED ENERGY CONCENTRATION - USPTO Patent 20160019984 - Jan. 21,2016


    ABSTRACT: A method of producing a localised concentration of energy includes: creating at least one shockwave propagating through a non-gaseous medium so as first to be incident upon a focusing pocket of fluid within the medium. The focusing pocket of fluid is positioned relative to a differently sized target pocket of gas within the medium, and is arranged to shield the target pocket of gas from the initial shockwave, such that the incidence of the shockwave on the focusing pocket of fluid concentrates the intensity of a shockwave subsequently incident upon the target pocket of gas. An apparatus for producing a localised concentration of energy is also described.


    http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20160019984.PGNR.&OS=dn/20160019984&RS=DN/20160019984


    This seems to be a significant development that the science media is ignoring.

    I do not think sonofusion or bubble fusion will work, and that is for a very simple reason.


    When the energy in a shock wave is concentrated or when a bubble in a fluid collapses the pressures will be high, yes.
    But this high pressure will compress the matter, decreasing its volume. This means the the kinetic energy will be transformed into elastic energy and the process will run out of kinetic energy long before there are any fusions.


    But there is one exception: the hydrogen bomb, only the compressing shock wave that drives the fusion is made from X-rays, not matter.


    Since it is difficult to make a perfectly focused shock wave, chances are that a big part of the energy will be lost to turbulence or splashes. I think a lot of splashes could be expected here: http://www.generalfusion.com/

    David, if you are commenting on my last post here I need for you to be more explicit.
    For starters, I did not mention Rossi or his gadgets at all.


    Help me to connect the dots, please!

    David, you seem to build your reasoning on the basis that Rossi's Lugano test really demonstrated a working reactor. For the sake of argument, let us assume that it did. Now you want to figure out what made it different from the non-working replication attempts, and you speculate in various stimulating mechanisms.


    The only "stimulation" I can think of was heat. Certainly, the current through the heater created a magnetic field in the reactor but this field was very weak.


    And since the heater was not powered by DC the temperature of the heating element varied slightly but the heat was delivered 300 times per second so this effect would not have been noticeable.


    The reactor was displayed naked on a steel frame. If there had been a piezoelectric cavitation generator coupled to the reactor I think we would have noticed.


    For my part, I don't think we need to speculate about what a leprechaun eats for dinner until we find one.

    Worth noting is that (presumably) the company developing this idea is First Light Fusion.
    They have raised $35,000,000 first round funding - possibly more by now. See thread -
    What LENR companies to invest in?


    Also relevant, is that the inventors are affiliated with Oxford, and have submitted
    a number of patent applications. For a list, go to USPTO URL -
    http://appft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-adv.html
    - and submit the search string "in/Ventikos"


    Can one assume so much funding and effort has gone into a project without good experimental evidence?

    Quote

    Can one assume so much funding and effort has gone into a project without good experimental evidence?

    We can't assume it but if you meant is such a situation possible, then the answer is yes. Look at what [lexicon]IH[/lexicon] and Woodford did. Millions for Rossi to invest in junk hardware, large power panels connected to the mains, and of course now 15 Miami condominium investments... and counting.

    I have been wondering what happened to FLF:


    Engineers Make Fusion Breakthrough by Shooting Projectile at 14,500 MPH (msn.com)


    Engineers in England have achieved nuclear fusion by firing a giant gun at a fuel sample.

    Researchers at First Light Fusion designed the method to be as simple as possible, and a viable alternative to the donut-shaped reactors called Tokamaks that are currently at the forefront of fusion technology.

    First Light Fusion's approach to nuclear fusion energy is a type known as inertial fusion, in which a fuel pellet is compressed and heated so fast that particles fuse together in the few nanoseconds before the fuel blows apart.

    Usually, inertial fusion is achieved by focusing an intense laser beam or particle beam at the pellet.

    However, the company is trying a different approach by firing a projectile at it at around 14,500 miles per hour, temporarily producing pressure equivalent to 100 million times that of Earth's atmosphere, higher than the pressure at the center of the planet Jupiter.

    In a power plant, the fuel pellet would be dropped into the reactor from above and the projectile would then be fired straight after it.

    This allows for just one entrance hole and the use of liquids that help protect the reaction chamber from the huge energy release—an engineering hurdle that other fusion approaches have to overcome.


    Lithium, flowing inside the reaction chamber, is then heated up by the energy released prompted by the fusion reaction. This heat is transferred to water, which turns into steam, which turns a turbine to produce electricity.


    The whole process would then be repeated every 30 seconds, with each reaction producing enough energy to power an average U.K. home for over two years.


    On April 5 2022, the company announced it had achieved fusion with this method and believes it offers the fastest and cheapest route to commercial fusion power.


    It is now planning to carry out another experiment in which it produces more energy out as a result of the reaction than it will use to produce the reaction—another huge fusion hurdle.


    The company is also planning to develop a pilot power plant producing around 150 MW of electricity in the 2030s.

    "If we can get the core physics to work, which I think we can, it potentially has a much faster trajectory to a power plant," Nick Hawker, founder of First Light Fusion, told The Times newspaper regarding the projectile approach. "The engineering is much simpler. The physics is simpler."


    First Light Fusion is based is Oxford, not far from the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority's Joint European Torus (JET) facility which, with a completely different approach, produced a record-breaking 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy earlier this year.



    Projectile Based Inertial Fusion | Fusion Power | First Light Fusion

  • Shane D.

    Changed the title of the thread from “Sonofusion Related USPTO Patent Application” to “First Light Fusion...Sonofusion Related USPTO Patent App”.

    Well done FLF, it looks like the Biomimicry of the shrimp (although I am a sceptic) will be really successful compared to tokamaks and peta-watt laser fusion. As my Japanese friend and colleague Prof Masahiro-san once said 'the simpler explanation for the observations - the better'! So you think we will have reproducible LENR-based reactors by 2030, it would be much better sooner with the state of the planet now. Maybe the investment made by Team Google in Silicon Valley will be the game-changer with their new techniques in digital processing. Lets see what happens at the up-coming ICCF-25.

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