Method and apparatus for the production of nuclear fusion

Abstract

By firing ionized reactant particles into a solid block of reactant, fusion reactions occur. As these particles are fired longitudinally into a thin sheet of reactant, fusion products are ejected laterally into a series of charged collectors. Unfused reactant ions that prematurely exit the solid reactant are recirculated by electric fields within the invention, boosting efficiency. Through the use of several collectors, charged particles of many energies are efficiently collected and converted to electric potential. The use of a solid sheet of reactant greatly increases the probability of fusion events taking place. The shape of the sheet acts to isolate the incoming reactant ions from the outgoing fusion products. Fusion products are not generally converted to heat by virtue of the small amount of material present in a typical product trajectory. Singly and together, these improvements act to greatly increase the efficiency of the reactor over prior art.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.