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Redacted White Paper: DARPA Development of
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Executive Engineering |
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Patent Number: PTO Classified Patent File: PTO Classified Manufacturing Process: DOD Classified Isotope Process: DOE Classified
The Thesis:
The
thesis of this white paper is that DARPA should actively participate in
the development of a new generation of power-generating devices based on
the concept of producing electrical power from radio isotopic fuel
sources. Such devices, known as Nuclear Accelerated Generators (NAG's),
represent an entirely new and innovative way at looking at the way
electrical power is created. It is alleged by Executive
Engineering that recent innovations in materials and technology
have made such devices feasible to generate both exceedingly large and
exceptionally small amounts of electrical power and to do it more
efficiently, over a longer period of time and with fewer breakdowns than
conventional technologies now being utilized. Currently the MEMS
laboratory is utilizing the advanced techniques necessary for the
fabrication of the NAG devices.
Such Nuclear Accelerated Generators should make ideal power sources for
use by the military for the simple reason that they are completely
scalable; that is, they can be used equally well to produce small
amounts of power in the 1-milliwatt range or large amounts of power in
the 5-Megawatt range.
Background:
Due
to the fact that the United Sates military depends, to a large extent,
on the use of high-technology devices to maintain superiority over
potential enemies, the combined armed forces consume massive mounts of
fuel to meet their need for power. Such needs run the gamut from
small, hand-held devices designed for individual soldiers all the way to
the large engines that propel planes, tanks and ships. In all of
these cases, the military expends a great deal of resources in
gathering, storing, shipping and utilizing the various types of fuel for
these devices.
Individual
soldiers, and their respective units on the ground, often must carry
many extra pounds of batteries into the field to ensure that power is
available for such things as night vision goggles, laser scopes for
weapons, computers, radios and a host of other small devices. At
the other end of the spectrum, the military also utilizes enormous
resources to ensure adequate fuel supplies for tanks, planes and ships
whenever and wherever they are needed. It is often the case
that Army tanks and other large vehicles are followed by whole convoys
of tankers carrying the fuel they need. Utilization of the NAG
devices to provide power would make this a moot point. Since there would
be no need whatsoever for any fuel, there would be no need for any
expenditures on fuel tankers, tanker trucks, storage facilities or,
even, batteries for the smaller devices.
Likewise, pilots of both combat and cargo planes must also keep a
constant eye on their fuel gauges so as not to outrun their respective
fuel sources. Often, they are refueled in the air to avoid running
out of fuel. The weight-to-power ratio of the NAG would allow it
to power both combat and cargo planes with no fueling ever required.
In
fact, widespread use of the NAG to provide power for industrial,
civilian and military applications would eliminate both chronic fuel
shortages as well as diminishing the ever-spiraling cost of traditional
fuel sources.
Along with its great versatility, one of the greatest advantages of the
NAG is its economy of use. For instance, the NAG technology would
virtually eliminate dependence on conventional power sources such as
fuel cells, solar cells, fossil fuel engines and diesel engines.
Not only would the NAG eliminate all these sources of power but it would
do it far less expensively than current technology allows.
Previous attempts have been attempted for the use of nuclear
power. Beginning with Dr. Paul Brown back in the 1980's, sporadic
attempts have been made to create isotopic nuclear batteries. Other than RTG,
all such attempts have failed. Dr. Brown had innovative ideas but,
ultimately, he could not make it work. Although his device
represented a new concept in power, his experiments, nevertheless,
failed primarily due to an unacceptably high rate of m The
Nuclear Accelerated Generator (NAG): The First Generation
Executive
Engineering has had, and continues to have, a close working relationship
with the energy industry for ten years. This relationship has
proven beneficial in that Executive Engineering has had inside
information concerning many of the latest developments in the energy field,
particularly as they relate to devices to store energy and to power
vehicles. It was knowledge gained during work on these devices
(particularly the failures encountered with conventional approaches)
that ultimately led to the development of the NAG.
Fuel Source:
Since isotopes are the fuel of all Nuclear Accelerated Generators, a
quick note about radioactive
isotopes
is in order. Radioactive
isotopes are continually being produced as part of radioactive
waste. Current estimates place the amount of such waste in the
United States at over 100 million gallons. They are being stored
in "temporary" tanks, at underground sites at great expense to the
taxpayers and at serious hazard to the environment for the simple reason
that nobody, to date, has discovered large-scale practical uses for
them. People in the
industry have told Executive Engineering, developer of the NAG, that
if these isotopes were ever needed, they could be easily extracted in
bulk quantities from nuclear waste and the cost of this process would
decrease dramatically. Isotope production at existing levels costs
less than the current cost of fuel even if only assuming longevity of
one half life and no trade-in value. With numerous half lives of
many isotopes quite possible and trade-in values factored in, the cost
advantage of the isotopic fuel is even more pronounced. Further,
as the demand for isotopes inevitably grows, the costs associated with
their production will only decrease.
Once placed as fuel into a NAG,
these radioactive fuels could theoretically last from approximately
three years to more than 400 years before needing to be replaced.
No additional, outside electrical power is ever needed; the
NAG
is completely and totally self-sustaining. Further, due to the
unique design of the NAG,
there is virtually no danger of meltdowns and absolutely no danger of
explosions or other catastrophic incidents. The device can stop
working or can be shut down for maintenance with no concomitant danger
to personnel, the environment or nearby population centers. The fuel source of the Nuclear Accelerated
Generator (NAG) is a radioisotope. There are, in fact, many
different isotopes that can be used as a power source for the NAG.
Pure beta emitters work best in the device and will extend the device's
life the longest. Included in this list would be such isotopes as NI-63,
SR-90, PM-147, and SN-121m. All appear to have the ideal properties for
the production of power. In fact, most such isotopes have at least 10
half-lives. Assuming an active lifespan of three to 100 years,
most isotopes would have at least 10 half lives worth of useful energy
discharge. This gives them trade-in value as well as their energy
value. It is clear that the days of rocket engines
and fossil fuels are over. Nuclear isotopic power will bring to
fruition such things as particle beam weapons, ion-powered space planes,
nuclear powered jet aircraft, high-powered laser canons, nuclear powered
tanks, nuclear powered naval ships and, even, cryogenic coolers.
Nag devices could also be easily adapted to power large metropolitan
areas, forward military bases and any other application where dependable
power is needed in remote areas for any reason. Not only can
the NAG devices do all these things, it can do it cheaper and more
efficiently than current technology. In short the only limitation
is the imagination brought to bear on the issue.
Power Comparison
A comparison of the current RTG thermal conversion rate compared
to the conversion rate of the NAG will quickly reveal the advantages of
the NAG. Current RTG efficiency equals approximately 3% - 10%
meaning 33 curies of isotopic fuel will yield about 1 watt of thermal
power. The NAG device, as developed by Executive Engineering, is
approximately 60% - 80% efficient so that that same 33 curies of
isotopic fuel will yield about 380 watts of power. In other words,
the NAG devices require ~400 times less isotopic fuel to yield the same
power as the current RTG.
Advantages
of Utilizing The Nuclear Accelerated Generator (NAG):
It is asserted by Executive
Engineering that use of the
NAG
to generate electricity would accrue several specific and
significant benefits.
Entirely Self-Contained Since the Isotope supplies all the power the device requires to operate no outside power source are needed.
In the first place, if a significant portion of the generating capacity
of the United States was switched over to this type of device, a
significant percentage of foreign oil dependence could be eliminated.
This, in turn, could lead to a steady decrease in the price of fossil
fuels, including oil and gas. Estimates vary wildly on how many
years the world's oil reserves will last but it is admitted by everyone
that the amount of reserves is finite; they will eventually run out.
The NAG represents a new
class of generating devices poised to fill the gap, both to delay the
depletion of the oil reserves and to take over when they eventually run
out.
Safety
It is asserted by Executive
Engineering that there are several other significant attributes that
make the NAG far safer than
conventional facilities. First, the
NAG
needs no large-scale containment building or special shielding.
The NAG has absolutely no
external emissions and produces no contaminated steam that can leak.
It also produces no nuclear waste on its own; to the contrary, it
utilizes nuclear waste for its own fuel. Also, the
NAG
cannot produce any contaminated water since no water (or other liquid)
comes in contact with the nuclear material. The nuclear fuel for
the NAG is solid and there
are no rods that need to be adjusted to produce different power levels.
Lastly, and possibly most important, the
radioactive isotopes that power the
NAG
do not need to be cooled. The
NAG
is not, in and of itself, a heat-producing device as is a
conventional nuclear facility. One gram of Strontium 90 (a
potential and likely fuel for the
NAG) can produce 1,590 watts of power and .54 watts of heat.
ADAPTABILITY
Perhaps the most important aspect of the
NAG
is its adaptability to widely differing applications, both civilian
and military. For instance, this device should easily be able to
handle the electrical generating tasks for large metropolitan and rural
areas alike. However, since this technology is truly scalable,
there should be no problem adapting it to power other things as well,
including virtually any ship in the Navy. This could mean, for
instance, that whole fleets could sail for years without needing to
refuel. The small size of the NAG should make it quite feasible to retrofit existing ships with
this new power supply.
Executive Engineering also believes that versions of the NAG could be made to power other large military vehicles such as
tanks and armored personnel carriers.
It is seriously suggested that tanks, fitted with NAG power supplies, could run for years without the need to worry
about expensive and cumbersome fuel re-supply efforts. Other
military uses could include the ability to parachute smaller NAGs directly into the field to supply the power needs for forward
military bases, military hospitals and other such needs, all without the
need for fuel/fuel tanks/trucks.
Civilian uses could include instances of disaster relief in such cases
where large areas of land have been devastated by natural disasters such
as floods or earthquakes.
NAGs
could be transported or dropped in to provide quick, efficient power
for relief teams.
Also, unlike conventional devices, the
NAG
can work under a wide range of external conditions, ranging from many
degrees above zero to many degrees below zero. Simply put, this
device should work equally well in the Antarctic or the Sahara.
The isotopic fuel of the NAG
can easily be transferred from one device to another allowing for quick
transfer and minimal loss of power. For instance, if an NAG were to become damaged for one reason or another, the
old/damaged one could be unhooked from the device, and a new one
attached with very little effort; even in the field.
COST/EFFICIENCY
There are other advantages to using
radioactive isotopes as fuel. Since the availability of the
atomic isotopes is more than ample, costs of this fuel should be
considerably less than either conventional atomic fuel or fossil fuel.
Further, since the casement of the
NAG
is not very expensive, the cost of replacing damaged and/or broken parts
is quite small. It is, relatively speaking, a low-cost replacement
device.
POWER OUTPUT
It is further asserted that this
NAG
technology could produce ~30-50 times more power than conventional
nuclear technology. This is not a guess; it has been well
established in experiments. This could mean that, to produce a
given amount of power, a facility could be built far smaller (and,
therefore, much cheaper) than existing nuclear or fossil-fuel power
plants.
It is admitted that much of this sounds too good to be true but
Executive Engineering is convinced that this device, although
totally new in concept, is based on hard science and can be developed to
produce exactly what is claimed. It is firmly believed that
research will bear out each and every one of the statements made on its
behalf.
Radiological Damage
There is no such thing as a safe isotope as even a few molecules of
particular isotopes over a long time can be damaging. From the
perspective of a conventional nuclear power plant, however, a NAG is one
of the safest devices on the planet. You cannot get a meltdown situation,
blow it up, or use the isotope to make a bomb. From an emission
point of view, it is a safe device to handle. The device is
self-contained with little or no X-Rays whether in operation or not in
operation. No Beta particles are ever emitted outside the casing of the
device.
There are some isotopes that do emit Gamma radiation and, in those rare
cases, it may become necessary to add shielding for the Gamma rays.
Most of the isotopes being considered for the NAG devices do not emit
Gamma rays and, therefore, do not carry this burden.
Basically, the only possible way for a person to get sick from this
device would be for him to physically pry the device open and breathe
from inside it. A distance of two to ten feet from the device is
quite sufficient to protect personnel from danger even if it were to be
shot open or exploded. The only danger would be if the isotope
actually entered a person's body or came in prolonged contact with the
skin.
Repair and Maintenance
It is reasonably expected that both these NAG devices should have a
10-year life span after which time the nuclear source would be removed
and replaced. It is an easy task to replace either the nuclear
source or the Power Core. Generally, it is expected that, over the
five to ten-year life span, the Power Core will become damaged from the
constant bombardment of the Beta particles and would need to be
replaced. Unlike current RTG's, a NAG device does not require the
source to be in contact with the walls of the device. The source
is mounted in the middle and the removal and reinsertion is an easy task
requiring very little time or effort. The exchange would involve a
snap-in/snap-out operation using safety procedures to ensure correct
operation.
Summary:
The Nuclear Accelerated Generator (NAG) is believed to represent an
entirely new concept in power generation. It is asserted that this
device can and will produce stationary power sufficient for the needs of
large cities or military bases. It is also asserted that the NAG offers
the only true scalable source of power; one that can provide power to a
whole range of applications ranging from small, hand-held devices
carried by individual soldiers to large military equipment including
ships, planes, tanks, armored personnel carriers and even applications
as the power supply for particle beam weapons. It is designed to
be portable, durable, self-sustaining, safe and, above all, powerful.
Final Note:
This article is intended to offer a preview of the Nuclear Accelerated
Generator. It is not meant
to be an all-inclusive report on how it has been developed and how it
would be manufactured.
Those details, while undoubtedly of great interest will,
of necessity, remain confidential.
It should be noted that the NAG device has been patented and the patent
number, also, will remain confidential.
The Nuclear Accelerated Generator is, in its entirety, 100% the
proprietary property of Executive Engineering of Florida.
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