Conjectured Metastable Super-Explosives formed under High Pressure for Thermonuclear Ignition

TL;DR

This paper proposes that high-pressure induced molecular excited states, termed super-explosives, could store immense energy densities and potentially trigger thermonuclear ignition due to their high energy flux capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of metastable super-explosives formed under high pressure with energy densities sufficient for thermonuclear ignition, a novel approach in high-pressure physics and fusion research.

Findings

High-pressure molecules can reach energy densities ~10^14 erg/cm^3.

Super-explosives can produce energy flux densities of ~10^24 erg/cm^2s.

Potential for these states to ignite thermonuclear reactions.

Abstract

If matter is suddenly put under a high pressure, for example a pressure of 100 Mb =10^14 dyn/cm^2, it can undergo a transformation into molecular excited states, bound by inner electron shells, with keV potential well for the electrons. If this happens, the electrons can under the emission of X-rays go into the groundstate of the molecule formed under the high pressure. At a pressure of the order ~ 10^14 dyn/cm^2, these molecules store in their excited states an energy with an energy density of the order ~ 10^14 erg/cm^3, about thousand times larger than for combustible chemicals under normal pressures. Furthermore, with the much larger optical path length of keV photons compared to the path length of eV photons, these superexplosives can reach at their surface an energy flux density (c=3x10^10 cm/s) of the order (c/3)x10^14 = 10^24 erg/cm^2s^(-1) = 10^17 W/cm^2, large enough for the ignition of thermonuclear reactions.