Energetic Electrons and Nuclear Transmutations in Exploding Wires

TL;DR

This paper explains how energetic electrons generated in exploding wires can induce nuclear transmutations through inverse beta processes, revealing new conditions under which nuclear reactions can occur at low energies.

Contribution

It introduces a collective electron motion model that resolves a long-standing paradox in low energy nuclear reactions and broadens the understanding of conditions for nuclear transmutations.

Findings

Nuclear transmutations observed in exploding wires.

Electrons absorb energy from electromagnetic fields and induce nuclear reactions.

Mechanism explains low energy nuclear reactions with collective electron motions.

Abstract

Nuclear transmutations and fast neutrons have been observed to emerge from large electrical current pulses passing through wire filaments which are induced to explode. The nuclear reactions may be explained as inverse beta transitions of energetic electrons absorbed either directly by single protons in Hydrogen or by protons embedded in other more massive nuclei. The critical energy transformations to the electrons from the electromagnetic field and from the electrons to the nuclei are best understood in terms of coherent collective motions of the many flowing electrons within a wire filament. Energy transformation mechanisms have thus been found which settle a theoretical paradox in low energy nuclear reactions which has remained unresolved for over eight decades. It is presently clear that nuclear transmutations can occur under a much wider range of physical conditions than was heretofore thought possible.