Supercooled Tritium

[Steven Sesselmann]

Hi Guys,

So the world is back to normal for the moment..

....but wait, I have another idea

Is anyone aware of an experiment, to create a Bose-Einstein condensate from Tritium?

If it can be done with Helium, then why not Tritium?

Would the supercooled nuclei get close enough to fuse?

Steven

[Eldarion]

Actually, its funny that you mention that. One of the main problems that they had with producing Bose-Einstein condensate is that one of the methods that they were using (magnetic cooling) caused the atoms to get so close that they fused and caused the temperatures to rise, making it difficult to reach the level of coldness that they were trying to achieve.
Another problem with doing these experiments with Tritium is that is requires a special licence to purchase it an it is very expensive, although it does produce the easiest fuson when it is fused with deutarium. Also, it is radioactive (it decays into Helium-3) and has a half life of roughly twelve years.

[Steven Sesselmann]

Nelson,

That is excactly what I thought might happen, namely that the constant spontaneous fusion of super cooled Tritium, might actually prevent it from reaching to a superfluid state.

Thought....Is the background temperature of the Universe, what it currently is for this reason?

Steven

PS: I found this here : http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002 ... matter.htm

"Not all atoms can form Bose-Einstein condensates -- "only those that contain even numbers of neutrons plus protons plus electrons," says Ketterle. Ketterle made his BECs from sodium atoms. If you add the number of neutrons, protons and electrons in an ordinary sodium atom, the answer is 34 -- an even number suitable for Bose-Einstein condensation. Atoms or isotopes of atoms with odd sums can't form BECs. Strange, but true."

Even number of particles...The tritium has 1 proton + 2 neutrons + 1 = 4

electron so it should form a BEC.

see also this old thread..

download_thread.php?site=fusor&bn=fusor ... 1171561577

[Chris Bradley]

I don't know where you would go with this one. I have no idea if atoms might fuse during the creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate - I fiind that highly suspect and have never heard of it.

But putting aside my sceptisim and/or ignorance on this aspect of science, in any case, and let's assume you could do it, how do you get useable heat out of something which is close to absolute zero?

So it is of interest, but you're not considering it for fusion power, are you?

[Steven Sesselmann]

Chris,

To answer your question, no, I don't think super cold Tritium fusion (if it exists) has any application in fusion power.

This question was posted just for curiosity.

When you cool down a substance you are removing heat, and that process allows the matter to fall to lower energy levels, which is the virtually the same as creating an electrostatic energy well, which is what we do in a fusor.

In the fusor atoms fall into the potential energy well and smash together, but in a super cooled cell, the atoms are gently brought together, but the proximity is the same.

Because Tritium has two neutrons (ie. more mass less charge) it should be the easiest to fuse, in this manner.

The deeper your potential energy well is, the easier it is to fuse atoms, but there is a trade off.

You can only extract energy which is over and above the well!

Obviously..

Steven

[Richard Hull]

Regardless of whether the current universal temperature is the reason related to non-runaway B-E condensates or not, the universe will not allow for uncontrolled burning of fusion fuels. It will only allow gravitational assembled campires with large separations to do this. Casual fusion at high energy output is just not seen. Thus, we live in a geologically ancient and well protected, physical law limited, rather cold universe.

Richard Hull