Feasibility of Controlled Rate of Release of Energy by Nuclear Alpha-Emitters

摘要

Energy is approximately one million times more densely stored in atomic nuclei than in chemical bonds. This has been exploited in nuclear reactors which can supply varying amounts of electric power, but which have a minimum size, and in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) which can be small, but have very limited power range despite their large energy density. This paper looks at some possibilities for externally varying alpha decay rates, in an attempt to design an RTG which would be a light, compact, variable electric power source for space applications with peak power much greater than presently available. We consider using alpha particles to stimulate decay, and microwave absorption to reduce the angular momentum barrier and hasten spontaneous decay. Neither of these approaches seems feasible.