Practical Applications of the Nucleon Cluster Model (NCM)

General

From the insight into the structure of matter which the NCM provides, a variety of methods for manufacturing and improving products can be derived. Some of the more readily-apparent applications of the NCM are discussed below. Patent protection for all these applications is pending in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Many of the potential applications described (or implied) by the following descriptions are based on a key principle inherent in the NCM: The isotope-specificity of materials properties due to unique cluster structures. This concept of cluster structure specificity is described in detail in the main paper, The Nucleon Cluster Model and Periodic Table of Beta-Stable Nuclides (see publication link).

Semiconductors

The NCM predicts methods for the manufacture of enhanced semiconductor materials. Greater speed and reliability should be achievable by enrichment of semiconductor materials with those isotopes having the most advantageously-configured cluster structures.

The global semiconductor market is valued at over 60 billion dollars per year, with about 40% of it held by U.S. companies. While Asian manufacturers dominate the mass-production market (mainly memory chips), the US controls about 90% of the market for more specialized chips. Technology based on the NCM could capture a large portion of this market.

Transmutation of Nuclear Waste and Plutonium-239

Current nuclear physics dictates that radioactive wastes be allowed to decay with the passage of time until the deadly isotopes become essentially undetectable. With the understanding provided by the NCM, it is possible to preferentially control the decay mechanism so that stable nuclei are obtained in the shortest period of time. The NCM also indicates that controlled transmutation of elements can be achieved using the proper application of electromagnetic energy, as well as low-energy hydrogen capture.

The method involves bombardment of long-lived radioisotopes with coherent electromagnetic radiation at specific energy levels. The result is transmutation of those isotopes into a mixture of stable isotopes and short-lived radioisotopes.

It is recognized that transmutation of radioactive fission waste (such as Strontium-90) is not the most pressing application of this process. Much more important would be the transmutation of weapons-grade material such as Pu-239 to a less dangerous material. The transmutation method is readily adapted so that Pu-239 can be converted to U-235, suitable for use in fission reactors for power generation.

Energy

The NCM points the way to providing a new method for generating energy. This method involves the accumulation of protons and deuterons in intimate contact with a lattice capable of storing them such that a continuous series of reactions occur. In this reaction, a proton and deuteron react to produce He-4 particles and excess heat through high-energy electromagnetic radiation.

It is recognized that this is often referred to as "cold fusion." That excess heat is produced by this reaction is strongly supported by numerous experiments worldwide, but a satisfactory theoretical foundation for the phenomenon has yet to be provided by researchers in this field. The insight provided by the NCM indicates that it is actually an annihilation reaction between identical structures of matter and antimatter clusters.

This new understanding of the annihilation reaction in so-called cold fusion cells leads to concepts for adapting the apparatus for more efficient and practical energy production.

Superconductors

Around the world, many laboratories are searching for mixtures that have a critical temperature (at which electricity transmission occurs with zero resistance) close to room temperature. At this time, many superconducting materials are known.

Elements used in existing superconducting materials correlate very closely with the structure of The Nucleon Cluster Model. Clustron believes that such correlation is not accidental, and that future research and development will ultimately unravel the true nature of superconductivity, leading to patentable superconducting materials and applications.

The NCM provides needed insight into establishing a method for creation of superconducting materials. According to the NCM, at least one of the constituents of the superconductive material can be identified as isotopes having cluster structures which are advantageously configured to promote superconductivity.

Materials Science

The impact of the NCM on all aspects of materials science is expected to be major. As with superconductors and semiconductors, conventional wisdom has ignored the effects of isotopic variation in the production of many materials. With the advent of NCM, a basis for the selection of isotopic constituents to enhance physical properties is now possible.