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6.2.5
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>6.2.5</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> <!-- function MM_goToURL() { //v3.0 var i, args=MM_goToURL.arguments; document.MM_returnValue = false; for (i=0; i<(args.length-1); i+=2) eval(args[i]+".location='"+args[i+1]+"'"); } //--> </script> </head> <body> <div align="justify"> <p align="left"><strong><font size="7" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities</font></strong></p> </div> <p align="justify"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><strong>© 1999 <a href="http://www.rfreitas.com">Robert A. Freitas Jr.</a> All Rights Reserved.</strong></font></p> <p>Robert A. Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities, Landes Bioscience, Georgetown, TX, 1999</p> <hr> <p> <input name="Vol I" type="submit" id="Vol I2" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMI.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol I"> <input name="Backward" type="submit" id="Backward2" onClick="MM_goToURL('parent','6.2.4.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="<<<<<"> <input name="Forward" type="submit" id="Forward2" onClick="MM_goToURL('parent','6.3.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value=">>>>>"> <input name="Nanomedicine Book Site" type="submit" id="Nanomedicine Book Site" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../index.htm');MM_goToURL('parent','../index.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Nanomedicine Book Site"> <input name="Vol IIA" type="submit" id="Vol IIA2" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMIIA.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol IIA"> <input name="Vol IIB" type="submit" id="Vol IIB2" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMIIB.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol IIB"> <input name="Vol III" type="submit" id="Vol III2" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMIII.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol III"> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font size="5"><strong>6.2.5 Nuclear Energy Storage</strong></font></span></p> <p><a name="p1"></a>By nanotechnological standards, the energy stored in atomic nuclei is huge. For instance, the energy density of an un-ionized radioactive atom of U<sup>235</sup> is 1.5 x 10<sup>18</sup> joules/m<sup>3</sup>, counting the kinetic energy of all fissile decay products in the total. Hydrogen that undergoes fusion into helium actually provides a much poorer volumetric energy storage density than for fission, ~4.4 x 10<sup>16</sup> joules/m<sup>3</sup> (again assuming storage of fuel as molecules), largely due to the comparatively high atomic number density of fissionable heavy metals. The highest practical energy density would be achieved by storing some theorized form of matter-friendly stabilized antimatter perhaps converted to a two-phase hypergolic (self-igniting) fuel,<sup><a href="Refs500-599.htm#565">565</a></sup> up to a maximum of ~2 x 10<sup>21</sup> joules/m<sup>3</sup> (fuel only) for platinum/antiplatinum annihilation. The difficulty, of course, is accessing this potential resource in a controlled and well-shielded fashion (<a href="6.3.7.htm">Section 6.3.7</a>).</p> <P> <P> <input name="Vol I2" type="submit" id="Vol I" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMI.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol I"> <input name="Backward2" type="submit" id="Backward" onClick="MM_goToURL('parent','6.2.4.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="<<<<<"> <input name="Forward2" type="submit" id="Forward" onClick="MM_goToURL('parent','6.3.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value=">>>>>"> <input name="Nanomedicine Book Site2" type="submit" id="Nanomedicine Book Site2" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../index.htm');MM_goToURL('parent','../index.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Nanomedicine Book Site"> <input name="Vol IIA2" type="submit" id="Vol IIA" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMIIA.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol IIA"> <input name="Vol IIB2" type="submit" id="Vol IIB" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMIIB.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol IIB"> <input name="Vol III2" type="submit" id="Vol III" onclick="MM_goToURL('parent','../NMIII.htm');return document.MM_returnValue" value="Vol III"> <div class=Section1></div> <hr> <p>Last updated on 18 February 2003</p> <p> </p> </body> </html>