received by the International Bureau on 12 March 2020 (12.03.2020)

1. (Amended) A flashtube device comprising:

a housing that consists of a small volume;

a flash lamp surrounded by the housing;

an inner surface of the housing being coated with light-absorbing particles; and

submicron fuel particles dispersed in a transparent light-scattering media contained in the housing, the light-scattering material being configured to guide light to the light-absorbing particles by diffuse light collection, wherein

the flash lamp comprises a thin superconducting element held at low temperature in series with a superconducting inductor, and

the light-absorbing particles comprise fusable nucleotides.

2. (Cancelled)

3. (Original) The flashtube device according to claim 1, wherein a space is defined between the filament and the housing.

4. (Original) The flashtube device according to claim 3, wherein the space extends a distance that is equal to about zero.

AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19)

5. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claims 1, 3 or 4, wherein an inner wall of the housing is coated with a mixture of said light-scattering particles and said light-absorbing particles.

6. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 1, wherein the flash lamp is held in a superconducting state.

7. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 6, wherein the flash lamp is connected to a power source that is composed of superconducting elements.

8. (Original) The flashtube device according to claim 6, wherein the flashtube device is triggered by locally heating the filament to cause decay of the superconducting state.

9. (Original) The flashtube device according to claim 6, wherein a sufficient volume of at least one of (a) the housing and (b) the filament are cooled to a low temperature (i) to induce the superconducting state of said filament and (ii) to reduce a gas vapor pressure of said volume to a low pressure.

10. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 9, wherein the low pressure is less than 10 Torr.

AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19)

11. (Original) The flashtube device according to claim 1, wherein the filament is disposed within a superconducting circuit.

12. (Original) The flashtube device according to claim 11, wherein at least one element in the superconducting circuit is an energy storage device.

13. (Original) The flashtube device according to claim 12, wherein the energy storage device comprises a superconducting inductor.

14. (Cancelled)

15. (Cancelled)

16. (Cancelled)

17. (Cancelled)

18. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 5, wherein the fusable nucleotides comprise at least one of deuterium, tritium and lithium.

19. (Cancelled)

AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19)

20. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 18, wherein the light scattering particles comprise at least one of Ti0₂, diamond particles, frozen D₂0, frozen H₂0, frozen C0₂ and other substantially transparent materials.

21. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 1, which has an initial pressure of less than 10 Torr.

22. (Cancelled)

23. (Cancelled)

24. (Cancelled)

25. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 5, wherein the flashtube device is initially at a temperature that is below the sublimation temperature of C0₂.

26. (Cancelled)

27. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 5, wherein the flashtube device builds pressure by discharge heating of working gas that is augmented by the evaporation of the frozen material disposed within the flashtube.

AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19)

28. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 5, wherein the flashtube device (a) builds absorber particle temperature to ~10⁶ K by (i) direct absorption of flashtube radiant energy and (ii) pressure rise, and (b) maintains absorber particle temperature for greater than 10^-9s.

29. (Cancelled)

30. (Cancelled)

31. (Amended) The flashtube device according to claim 5, comprising

X-ray scattering material positioned externally to the housing, wherein

the X-ray scattering material comprises aluminum reflectors, and the aluminum reflectors return radiation to materials disposed within the housing.

32. (Original) A method for directly heating a material for energy extraction, by providing the flashtube device according to claim 1.

33. (Original) The method according to claim 32, wherein the material comprises a water bath.

34. (Cancelled)

AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19)

35. (Amended) A multiplexed, flashtube thermonuclear reactor comprising at least a first flashtube according to claim 5 and a second flashtube according to claim 5, wherein

filament vaporization triggers the first flashtube, so that destruction of the first flashtube provides heat and pressure to trigger the second flashtube to thereby generate large-scale detonations.

36. (Original) The multiplexed, flashtube thermonuclear reactor according to claim 35, wherein the second flashtube is larger than the first flashtube.

37. (Original) The multiplexed, flashtube thermonuclear reactor according to claims 35 or 36, wherein the second flashtube is concentric with the first flashtube.

AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19)