arXiv subjects

Noah D'Amico

Publications and source records attributed to Noah D'Amico.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Determination of Tritium Content in D2 Gas and Heavy Water

A simple experimental method for the determination of tritium concentration in natural hydrogen and deuterium gas down to the femtomole level is described. Palladium and platinum catalysts were used to react hydrogen and oxygen, creating water that could be analyzed in a Revvity Quantulus GCT 6220. This analysis produced sub-femtomole detection limits of tritium present in hydrogen gas or heavy water. A contamination level of $\sim 1\text{ femtomole/SL}$ was found in the $\text{D}_2$ gas sample that was analyzed. A contamination level of $\sim 0.025\text{ femtomole/SL}$, which is below the noise level of the Quantulus, was found in the standard hydrogen gas sample that was analyzed. The choice of palladium or platinum catalyst did not significantly affect the resulting tritium measurement. By showing that common $\text{D}_2$ samples can be contaminated with trace amounts of tritium orders of magnitude above natural abundance, this test demonstrates that a baseline tritium measurement for deuterium samples is highly important for determining the validity of results in nuclear fusion yield experiments.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2026

Alpha Particle Induced Collision Cascade Fusion

We report experimental and computational investigations of a collision-cascade mechanism to induce deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion. Evidence of neutron production was observed from a pressurized deuterium target exposed to energetic alpha particles emitted by a $^{210}\text{Po}$ source. A 5-mCi $^{210}\text{Po}$ alpha source was placed within a chamber containing pressurized deuterium gas, and neutron emission was monitored for 18 h using two Mirion SN-S $^{3}\text{He}$ neutron detectors. Alpha particles incident on pressurized deuterium gas produced an average excess of $\sim$74 neutrons after background subtraction, corresponding to a fusion neutron rate of $\sim$2.24 n/s. With LiD in the pressurized deuterium, the average excess increased to 268 neutrons, corresponding to 8.1 n/s. Since D-D fusion branches into two equally likely pathways, these correspond to a fusion rate near 4.5 and 16.2 fusions per second, respectively. MCNP simulations incorporating experimental geometry, source activity, and detector configuration predicted neutron yields within 5.4% of the measured values and reproduced the detector response within experimental uncertainty. The tight agreement between measured and simulated neutron counts suggests that energetic alpha-particle interactions within the deuterium may contribute to measurable D-D fusion reactions through the D(d,n)$^{3}\text{He}$ channel.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2026

Production of Low-Density Aerogel Nuclear Fuels for Use in Fission Fragment Rockets and Novel Reactor Design

Graphene hydrogels were created and loaded with uranyl nitrate or thorium nitrate and freeze-dried to produce graphene aerogel nuclear fuels. These aerogels had densities between 0.018-0.035 g/cm3 and consisted of ~7.3 +- 0.5% uranium/thorium by mass. The ultra-low density of the aerogels allows for high energy ions to escape the fuel particles without depositing all their energy as heat, as is typical in nuclear fuels. Their measured alpha activity was ~16 pCi/mg, which could be enhanced up to ~49 pCi/mg by decreasing the thickness of aerogel samples to allow all alpha particles to escape. Additionally, high energy neutrons were used to induce fission to provide a source of fission fragments from the aerogel fuels. This novel form of nuclear fuel has potential applications in space propulsion such as fission fragment rocket engines, as well as in terrestrial applications for modular reactors, direct conversion methods, and in medical radiotherapeutics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗