This is my own idea, and I would really appreciate feedback from anyone who is knowledgeable in this subject. Thanks in advance. Nilfir stands for Neutron Induced Lithium Fission Reaction. It is an alternate way to create energy using Nuclear Fission. This is the reaction: Li-7 + N => Li-8 Li-8 => Be-8 + 16 MeV Be-8 => 2 He-4 + 90 KeV. The total energy gain is ~16.1 MeV. The energy density is about 2 MeV/AMU (193 trillion joules/ Kg) more than twice Uranium. Now all of this so far is great, but you would need an expensive and power hungry external neutron source because this reaction doesn't produce any neutrons. This is how I would alleviate this: Beryllium-9 contains 4 protons and 5 neutrons. To split it, and create 2 Helium-4's and a neutron, you need 1.6 MeV (actually 2.45, but close enough). The fission products (2 alpha particles) have 8 MeV each, so a collision with Beryllium will be enough to split it. This design will probably work best with a Gas Core Reactor at ~2700* C, with both Li and Be as a gas. With a ratio of Li:Be of 1:2, 4 4/9 neutrons will be produces per fission. The cross section for the reaction is small, .05 Barns, but the high neutron yield per mass, and the fact that the lithium atom is small to begin with, should keep the critical mass small. It will also help that Be is the best possible neutron moderator. Another positive is that the most radioactive thing this reaction can POSSIBLY create is tritium, which isn't that bad. Sources: Lithium-8 decay Beryllium-8 decay Reaction Cross Section
hello? Fine, I suppose this isn't a sciency type forum. What are you're feelings about nuclear energy in general, and ow does this compare?