Lithium tantalate

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Lithium tantalate
Image:Noimage.jpg
General
Systematic name	Lithium tantalate
Other names	Lithium Metatantalate
Molecular formula	Li Ta O₃
Molar mass	? g/mol
Appearance	?
CAS number	[12031-66-2]
Properties
Density and phase	7.46 g/cm³, solid
Solubility in water	?/100 ml (25 °C)
Melting point	1650 °C (1923 K)
Boiling point	? °C (? K)
Structure
Coordination geometry	?
Crystal structure	trigonal
Hazards
MSDS	External MSDS
Main hazards	?
NFPA 704
RTECS number	?
Supplementary data page
Structure and properties	n, ε_r, etc.
Thermodynamic data	Phase behaviour Solid, liquid, gas
Spectral data	UV, IR, NMR, MS
Related compounds
Other anions	LiNbO₃
Other cations
Related salts
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references

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Tabletop fusion may lead to neutron source

Lithium tantalate (LiTaO₃), is a crystalline solid which possesses unique optical, piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties which make it valuable for infrared motion detectors, terahertz generation and detection, surface acoustic wave applications, cell phones and possibly pyroelectric nuclear fusion. Considerable information is available from commercial sources about this crystal.

[edit] Pyroelectric fusion

According to an April 2005 Nature article, Brian Naranjo, Jim Gimzewski and Seth Putterman at UCLA applied a large temperature difference to a lithium tantalate crystal producing a large enough charge to generate and accelerate a beam of deuterium nuclei into a deuteriated target resulting in the production of a small flux of helium-3 and neutrons through nuclear fusion without extreme heat or pressure. Their results have been replicated.

It is unlikely to be useful for electricity generation since the energy required to produce the fusion reactions exceeded the energy produced by them. It is thought that the technique might be useful for small neutron generators, especially if the deuterium beam is replaced by a tritium one. Comparing this with the electrostatic containment of ionic plasma to achieve fusion in a "fusor" or other IEC, this method focuses electrical acceleration to a much smaller non-ionized deuterium target without heat.

See main article: Pyroelectric fusion