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Helium-3 (3 He [1] [2] see also helion) is a light, stable isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. (In contrast, the most common isotope, helium-4, has two protons and two neutrons.) Helium-3 and protium (ordinary hydrogen) are the only stable nuclides with more protons than neutrons. It was discovered in 1939.
Helion Energy, Inc. is an American fusion research company, located in Everett, Washington. [2] They are developing a magneto-inertial fusion technology to produce helium-3 and fusion power via aneutronic fusion, [3] [4] which could produce low-cost clean electric energy using a fuel that can be derived exclusively from water.
By recycling the 3 He decay into the reactor, the fusion reactor does not require materials resistant to fast neutrons. Assuming complete tritium burn-up, the reduction in the fraction of fusion energy carried by neutrons would be only about 18%, so that the primary advantage of the D-D fuel cycle is that tritium breeding is not required.
The reaction produced about 3 megajoules of energy. ... there is no risk of a nuclear meltdown and it produces only helium as waste. Fusion reactors use relatively little fuel and cannot be used ...
In 2022, Helion Energy claimed that their 7th fusion prototype (Polaris; fully funded and under construction as of September 2022) will demonstrate "net electricity from fusion", and will demonstrate "helium-3 production through deuterium–deuterium fusion" by means of a "patented high-efficiency closed-fuel cycle". [23]
The Sun is a main-sequence star, and, as such, generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. In its core, the Sun fuses 620 million metric tons of hydrogen and makes 616 million metric tons of helium each second. The fusion of lighter elements in stars releases energy and the mass that always accompanies it.
Jennifer Granholm, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, says that the U.S. is aiming to create a working fusion reactor by 2035.
Helium-3 propulsion would use the fusion of helium-3 atoms as a power source. Helium-3, an isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron, could be fused with deuterium in a reactor. The resulting energy release could expel propellant out the back of the spacecraft. Helium-3 is proposed as a power source for spacecraft mainly because of its ...