Direct energy conversion - applied electric field

A method of generating electrical power, the method comprising:

• (a) producing positively charged particles by operating a reactor comprising:
• a confining wall at least partially enclosing a confinement region within which charged particles and neutrals can rotate,
• a plurality of electrodes adjacent or proximate to the confinement region,
• a control system comprising a voltage and/or current source configured to apply an electric potential between at least two of the plurality of electrodes, wherein the applied electric potential generates an electric field within the confinement region that alone, or in conjunction with a magnetic field, induces and/or maintains rotational movement of charged particles and the neutrals in the confinement region, and
• a reactant disposed in or adjacent to the confinement region such that, during operation, repeated collisions between the neutrals and the reactant produce an interaction with the reactant that gives off energy and produces the positively charged particles, wherein the positively charged particles have a nuclear mass that is different from a nuclear mass of any of the nuclei of the neutrals and the reactant;
• (b) directing the positively charged particles from the reactor to an energy conversion region comprising an electrical field produced by one or more energy conversion electrodes disposed outside of the reactor, wherein the positively charged particles interact with the electrical field after leaving the reactor;
• and
• (c) receiving, at a circuit coupled to the one or more energy conversion electrodes, electrical current generated from the interaction of the positively charged particles with the electrical field in the energy conversion region.