The present invention relates to a method for producing nanopowders and/or for producing various element isotopes at naopowder level. The present invention relates in particular to a method for producing nanopowders and/or isotopes of various elements at nanopowder level using reactive metal catalysts, in particular alkali metal catalysts, and high frequency radiations.

The method of the present invention for producing nanopowders and/or various element isotopes at nanopowder level has numerous applications in a wide variety of fields, including for example: industry, science, medicine, military, space technology, etc.

There are several known methods for producing nanopowders, which all have different drawbacks in terms of costs and production rate. These conventional methods of particle size reduction include for example: milling, grinding, jet milling, crushing, air micronization, supercritical fluid rapid depressurization of saturated solutions, plasma torching, etc. All of these conventional methods of particle size reduction are complicated, time and energy consuming, using expensive and complex equipment.

There are also several known methods for producing element isotopes at nanopowder level, which all have different drawbacks in terms of costs, production rate and output results. These methods for producing different element isotopes at nanopowder level include for example:

Reactor processing

Accelerator processing - Chemical Separation

Electromagnetic enrichment These methods for producing element isotopes at nanopowder level are complicated and energy consuming, and require expensive and complex equipment.

An aim of the present invention is thus to propose an industrially applicable method for producing nanopowders and/or for producing various element isotopes at nanopowder level, having a high production rate and output results quality.

Another aim of the present invention is to propose an economical method for producing nanopowders and/or various element isotopes at nanopowder level.

Still another aim of the present invention is to propose an industrially applicable method for producing nanopowders and/or various element isotopes at nanopowder level which does not require complex and energy and time consuming devices in order to achieve high efficiency results; which can process different materials, for example metal or nonmetal base elements and/or alloys in different combinations, and can have numerous applications.

These aims are achieved by a method for producing nanopowders and/or for producing isotopes of various elements at nanopowder level, comprising the features of the corresponding independent claims. These aims are also achieved with a reactor for performing said method according to the corresponding independent claim.

These aims are achieved in particular by a method for producing nanopowders and/or various element isotopes at nanopowder level, the method comprising a first part of producing nanopowder by pulverizing an input material to nanopowder level, said first part comprising the steps of mixing the input material with at least one reactive, or alkali, metal catalyst, melting the mixture of the input material and the at least one reactive, or alkali, metal catalyst, processing the resulting alloy in the presence of oxygen and water for pulverizing the input material into nanopowder, and removing the at least one reactive, or alkali, metal catalyst from the nanopowder; and/or a second part of producing various element isotopes at nanopowder level, said second part comprising the steps of placing an input material in nanopowder form and a source of elementary particles inside a reactor; applying magnetic and/or electrostatic field on the input material in nanopowder form in order to orientate the molecules of the input material in a determined orientation and

simultaneously applying a random high frequency field in order to agitate the input material.

In embodiments, the step of melting the mixture of the input material and the at least one reactive metal catalyst comprises subjecting the mixture to high frequency electromagnetic radiations, for example to microwaves.

In embodiments, the step of processing the alloy comprises letting the alloy cool down in atmospheric temperature and humidity conditions.

The nature of the source of elementary particles used in the second part of the method usually depends on the nature of the input material and/or on the isotope or isotopes of the input material to be produced. The radiations emitted by the source of elementary particles are for example α, β or γ radiations.

The random high frequency field applied to the nanopowder is for example a stochastic field in the GHz frequency range.

In embodiments, both parts of the method are performed in a same reactor.

These aims are achieved in particular by a reactor for performing the method of the invention, wherein said reactor comprises a container with high frequency sources coupled with, for example attached to, the walls of the container, wherein the beams of the sources are oriented towards the geometrical center of a horizontal section of the container.

In embodiments, the reactor further comprises a source of elementary particles located in the container, for example in its center.

Preferably, the beams of the high frequency sources are oriented at an angle relative to a horizontal plane. The beams of a part of said high frequency sources, for example of half of them, are for example oriented at a first angle below a horizontal plane, while the beams of the other high frequency sources are oriented at a second angle above said horizontal plane. The sum of said first angle and said second angle is for example 60°.

In embodiments, the source of elementary particles is a quartz tube with aluminum stripes inside.

In embodiments, the reactor further comprises a lid, wherein a bottom plate of the container and said lid comprise magnets and/or electrostatic generators.

In embodiments, the container has a polygonal, for example octagonal, horizontal section.

The present method allows achieving efficient results in a short processing time when producing nanopowders and/or their isotopes. According to the invention, processing the alloy resulting from melting the mixture made of the input material and the at least one alkali metal catalyst, for example letting this alloy cool in atmospheric temperature and humidity conditions, leads to the expansion of the alkali metal catalyst or catalysts, whereas the forces resulting from this expansion break the intermolecular connections within the input material, which pulverizes the input material into nanopowder in an efficient and economical manner. Furthermore, when producing isotopes of the input material in nanopowder form, simultaneously combining the effects of the magnetic and/or electrostatic field, which orientates the molecules of the input material in a determined orientation, with the effects of the random high frequency field, which agitates the nanopowder, allows controlling and homogenizing the decay reaction occurring within the reactor, which is initiated by the radiation from the source of elementary particles, thus resulting in the efficient and cost effective production of the desired isotope or isotopes of the input material. The method of the present invention for producing nanopowders and/or various element isotopes at nanopowder level is economical and applicable at an industrial scale. Experiments have shown that, according to embodiments of the present method, the quantity of nanopowder produced corresponds to almost 100% of the quantity of input material. Similarly, the quantity of isotopes produced according to embodiments of the method of the present invention corresponds to almost 100% of the quantity of input material in a shorter time and with a simpler processing than with conventional technologies.

The method of the invention will be better understood by reading the following description of embodiments, with the help of Fig. 1 that schematically illustrates part of a reactor for performing the method of the invention seen from above.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the reactor for performing the method of the invention comprises a container 1 having for example a polygonal horizontal section, for example an octagonal horizontal section. Other shapes of the container 1 are however possible within the frame of the invention. In particular, the container can have a circular section, thus forming a cylinder.

The reactor further comprises high frequency sources 2 that are coupled to the container 1 for propagating said high frequencies inside said container 1. The high frequency sources 2 are for example attached to the walls of the container 1 , for example integrated into the walls.

In the illustrated embodiment, the reactor comprises eight high frequency sources 2, each one of the eight sources 2 being coupled to another face of the octagonal wall of the container 1. The high frequency sources 2 are preferably all oriented towards the geometrical center of a horizontal section of the container 1 , i.e. such that when high frequencies are generated, the beam of high frequencies of each high frequency source 2 is directed towards the geometrical center of a horizontal section of the container 1 . In embodiments, part of the high frequency sources, for example half of them, are oriented towards the upper part of the container 1 , while the other high frequency sources, for example the other half of them, are oriented towards the lower part of the container 1 . For example, two neighboring high frequency sources 2 have different orientations relative to a horizontal plane, their respective beams thus forming an angle, for example and angle of 60°, in a vertical plane. In

embodiments, all high frequency sources 2 are placed at the same height relative to the container 1 , and all of their beams are oriented towards the geometrical center of the section of container 1 , but the beams of part of the high frequency sources 2 are oriented towards the lower part of the container 1 with an angle of 30° relative to a horizontal plane, while the beams of the other part of the high frequency sources 2 are oriented towards the upper part of the container 1 with an angle of 30° relative to the horizontal. This allows forming two focal points of the beams of high frequencies within the container 1 , one in the upper part of the container 1 and one in the lower part of the container 1 , thereby resulting in an efficient distribution of the effects of the high frequency field within the container 1 .

According to embodiments of the invention, a source of elementary particles 3, for example a source of alpha, beta or gamma particles, can be placed in the container 1 , for example in the center of the container 1 . In embodiments, the source of elementary particles 3 is for example a quartz tube with aluminum stripes inside. Other sources of particles 3 are however possible within the frame of the invention. The choice of the source of particles 3, and thereby the choice of the type of elementary particles (α, β or γ particles), depends on the material, or element, to be processed by the method of the invention. The source of elementary particles 3 is used for performing decay reactions on the atom inner level of the processed input material and transform stable isotopes into unstable isotopes of the corresponding material. Choosing the appropriate elementary particle source 3 thus allows initiating and controlling the necessary sequences of decay, cold fusion and transmutation reactions inside the reactor. The reactor preferably comprises a lid for closing the container 1 , which is not represented in the figure. The bottom of the container 1 and the lid preferably comprise magnets and/or electrostatic plates for inducing magnetic and/or electrostatic fields inside the container 1 when the container 1 is closed. Preferably, the magnetic and/or electrostatic fields generated by the bottom pate of the container 1 and the lid are controlled in that for example they can be activated, turned off, and/or their intensity can be modified, independently from each other.

As explained above, the high frequency field from the high frequency sources or generators 2 is preferably focused at the geometrical center of a horizontal section of the container 1 , for example at two different height levels along a central vertical axis of the container 1 . When applied on an input material in nanopowder form contained in container 1 , this concentrated high frequency field for example produces a stochastic field of elementary particles originating from the source of elementary particles 3, which are acting in the entire volume of the container 1 on the nanopowder for producing the necessary isotopes.

The method of the present invention for producing nanopowders and/or various element isotopes at nanopowder level can be used for processing various single materials, for example metal or nonmetal base elements, and various alloys that can have different field applications. In embodiments, the method of the invention for producing nanopowders and/or various element isotopes at nanopowder level comprises the following parts that can be performed in a single reactor, for example in a reactor as described above, wherein part one below allows producing nanopowder from an input material and part two allows producing isotopes of said input material at nanopowder level.

The first part of the method comprises pulverizing an input material, for example a metal or nonmetal element or an alloy, to nanopowder level, said part comprising the steps of:

- mixing the input material, for example in grains of appropriate sizes, with reactive metal catalysts, in particular with alkali metal catalysts; - melting the thus formed mixture in the container 1 by applying high frequencies, for example microwaves, from the high frequency sources 2;

- processing the resulting alloy, for example letting it cool in controlled atmospheric conditions, in particular in presence of oxygen and humidity, in order for the molecules of the reactive metal catalyst to react with oxygen and water and destroy the crystal structure of the input material, thereby producing a nanopowder mixture of the input material and the reactive metal catalysts;

- separating the reactive metal catalysts from the input material, using methods known in the art, for example a gravimetric process. The first part of the method comprises producing one or more isotopes of an input material at nanopowder level, comprising the steps of:

- placing a source of elementary particles 3 inside the container 1 in order to initiate a decay reaction for modifying the nucleus at the atom inner level of the input material; - applying magnetic and/or electrostatic field on the nanopowder of the input material placed in the container 1 in order to orientate the molecules of the input material in a determined orientation and thereby increase the efficiency of the decay reaction, whereas the magnetic and/or electrostatic field is for example generated by the magnets and/or electrostatic plates comprised in the lid and or the bottom plate of the container 1 ;

- applying a random high frequency field from the high frequency sources 2 in order to agitate the nanopowder and thereby improving the homogeneity of the processing of the nanopowder over the entire volume of the container 1.

Accordingly, the nucleus of the atoms of input material being

appropriately oriented by the applied magnetic and/or electrostatic field, the efficiency of the decay reaction is increased and the production of the desired isotope or isotopes is better controlled.

The three steps of the second part of the method described above, or at least the steps of applying magnetic and/or electrostatic field and the step of applying a random high frequency field, are preferably performed

simultaneously on the nanopowder present in container 1 . The parameters of each step are preferably chosen and/or dimensioned in order to obtain a particular desired isotope from a given input material. Applying different sequences of said three steps with different

parameters allows the production of different isotopes of the same material.

According to embodiments of the invention, the isotopes at nanopowder level are produced while a high frequency field is applied to the nanopowder inside the reactor. The high frequency field also activates the source of elementary particles located in the container 1 , preferably in the middle of said container 1 , whereas the freed elementary particles act on the atoms of the nanopowder to modify their nucleus, i.e. a decay reaction takes place at atom inner level. The source of elementary particles 3 is chosen according to the nature of the input material, different particles having different effects on the nucleus of different materials.

Furthermore, using specific magnetic and/or electrostatic fields and controlling the temperature for a particular input material allows determining the type of isotope produced.

The magnetic and/or electrostatic field will also orientate the molecules of the input material in nanopowder form in order to obtain a more efficient decay reaction.

Applying a random high frequency field during the decay reaction allows achieving a homogenous processing of the element in the entire volume of the container 1 . The decay reaction is initiated by the source of elementary particles 3 that allows an efficient processing of the nanopowder at the atoms' inner level in that the nucleus of the appropriately oriented molecules is modified. The controlled modification of the nucleus of the input material's atoms allows the generation of the desired isotope or isotopes. In embodiments, the method of the present invention does not require complex and energy consuming devices in order to achieve highly efficient results with costs reduced by more than 50% over conventional methods.

In embodiments, producing nanopowders according to the present invention allows achieving a quantity of nanopowder corresponding to almost 100% of the input material quantity, and in a short processing time when compared to conventional methods.