New types of particle accelerators revolutionize civil and military research.

"Conceptual illustration of micronozzle acceleration (MNA). A solid hydrogen rod is embedded in an aluminum micronozzle, which channels and focuses plasma flow to optimize proton acceleration. Credit: Masakatsu Murakami"(Phys.org/Tabletop particle blaster: How tiny nozzles and lasers could replace giant accelerators)

Lasers and micronozzles bring the tabletop particle accelerators closer to reality. Those systems use laser beams and magnetic fields to accelerate protons and electrons. Those systems can raise the electron’s energy level. The new system that combines liquid hydrogen and laser beams can raise the proton’s energy level to 1 GeV. That kind of ion system is much smaller than CERN particle accelerators, The new accelerator type can revolutionize civil and military technology. The ion engines or plasma ion engines that use high-energy plasma to create thrust can use that new particle accelerator type. 

The system can inject high-energy particles into gas and that system turns plasma into a high-energy level. The ion engine that can expand plasma like a regular rocket engine can form higher thrust than the regular ion engines. The plasma-ion engines combine ion and rocket engines under the new hybrid concept where high-energy plasma raises the gas temperature. There is a possibility to use antimatter injection to create high-energy plasma. The antiproton or positron injection will raise the gas's temperature and that creates thrust. 

"Concept of micronozzle acceleration (MNA). The MNA target employs a micronozzle housing a solid hydrogen rod (H-rod), precisely placed near the nozzle neck to maximize proton yield. Acting as a "power lens," the micronozzle focuses the incident laser energy onto the H-rod, enabling efficient and localized energy deposition. This configuration significantly boosts proton acceleration near the nozzle exit, outperforming setups lacking the nozzle structure. Credit: Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-03385-x" (Phys.org/Tabletop particle blaster: How tiny nozzles and lasers could replace giant accelerators)

*The implications are wide-reaching:

*Energy: Supports fast ignition schemes in laser-driven nuclear fusion.

*Medicine: Enables more compact and precise systems for proton cancer therapy.

*Fundamental science: Creates conditions to simulate extreme astrophysical environments and probe matter under ultra-strong magnetic fields.

(Phys.org/Tabletop particle blaster: How tiny nozzles and lasers could replace giant accelerators)

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"Illustration of a spacecraft powered by nuclear propulsion and solar sails traveling towards Sedna. Image generated by AI." (RudeBaquette, “We’re Finally Fast Enough”: Nuclear Propulsion and Solar Sails Could Blast a Spacecraft to Sedna in Just 7 Years)

In that spacecraft, the solar sail can act as a reactor cooler. The futuristic system comprises a solar sail and a nuclear thermal engine that can boost the rocket into a very high speed. And the atomic engine can use pulsed plasma to create ultra-high thrust. Begin of the journey the system can use both, solar sail and a nuclear engine for maximum thrust. Then at a longer distance that solar sail can turn into a cooling system. 

These kinds of plasma systems are dangerous in the wrong hands. The ion cannon is basically the same system as the ion engine. The main problem with ion cannons is how to keep the particle beam in its form. Particles with the same polarity repel each other. There is a possibility to shoot electron beams in the ion beam. Or the target can be loaded with opposite-polarity electricity that pulls those ions to it.

But there is also the possibility of creating plasma bombs by using ion technology. Basically, a plasma bomb is only a magnetic tank where high-energy plasma hovers away from the wall. The laser, microwave, or particle accelerators can create that plasma. The particle accelerator can load high-energy plasma into the bomb by using the positron injection. When that bomb drops to the ground its shell is broken. And that releases plasma from 10- 10000 or even millions of degrees Celsius to the air. Theoretically, plasma bombs can replace thermonuclear weapons if they can create plasma that has a temperature of tens of millions of degrees Celsius. 

The antimatter bomb is the tank where antimatter hovers away from the walls. The small-sized particle accelerator that is in the airplane can load antimatter into those capsules that the system shoots at the enemy. The antimatter capsules can also be used as fuel pellets for antimatter rockets. 

https://physicsworld.com/a/micronozzle-could-give-laser-driven-particle-accelerators-a-boost/

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-tabletop-particle-blaster-tiny-nozzles.html

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/07/were-finally-fast-enough-nuclear-propulsion-and-solar-sails-could-blast-a-spacecraft-to-sedna-in-just-7-years/

New age for rocketry.

Above: Cargo Rocket in action, New Atlas

Pentagon's new plan: cargo rockets can transport troops all around the world in 90 minutes. And that is not everything. The rockets provide a valuable hypersonic transportation tool for humans, robots, and drones, as well as bombs and other systems. The new ability to send men and cargo anywhere on Earth is one of the things that makes those systems suitable for many roles. The rocket is one of the things that have more capacity than people even think.

Chemical rockets can create fuel in their body. The rocket just needs the electrolysis system. The weak thrust with a hydrogen-oxygen mixture can be compensated by injecting water into a rocket chamber. Or there must be some kind of structure where the pressure wave can jump to the front of the engine. The system requires only electricity and a filter that removes sodium and chlorine. 

The last Pentagon's rocket plan was Project Orion, the rocket that planned to use the small nuclear bombs to transfer the craft to Mars. The improved version of the Orion spacecraft is the system called Medusa. The Medusa system is the solar sail that is connected to Orion. It should give more power when nuclear bombs detonate behind the craft the particles hit a larger area. The Medusa system can also benefit from the particle flow from the sun that regular spacecraft. 

The Pentagon planned that project as the nuclear-powered space bomber. But the same technology could be used in the interplanetary spacecraft. Another interesting nuclear-powered airborne system was Project Pluto. The nuclear-powered ramjet engine should drive cruise missiles to unlimited flight. 

Images above: USAF cargo rocket could land anywhere on Earth in under 90 minute,  New Atlas

Above: Project Pluto. Global Security, SLAM Supersonic Low-Altitude Missile ("Project Pluto")

Illustration of a spacecraft enabled by nuclear thermal propulsion. Image generated by AI. (Sustainability Times, China Caught Off Guard as U.S. Unleashes Liquid Uranium Rocket to Conquer Mars with Unmatched Nuclear Speed)

Theoretically, Project Pluto was the most capable system that was ever tested. But the reality was that Project Pluto, or a nuclear-powered ramjet engine could cause pollution that could be worse than Chernobyl. The nuclear-powered ramjet-driven plane can fly to space and then dive back into the atmosphere where the engine system can fill its gas tanks. 

And then that gas can be driven through a nuclear reactor and that stored air can create thrust outside the atmosphere. The Pluto (Tory-IIC) engine could be like NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) but unlike NERVA or nuclear thermal rocket, NTR. In the atmosphere, Pluto breathes air from the atmosphere and heats it with a nuclear reactor. 

The Pluto engine can also operate in atmospheres where there is no oxygen. The system can also use any kind of liquid or gas for the thrust. So, that kind of system can open a route to the entire solar system. That gives it unlimited operational capacity. And we might think that the Russian  9M730 Burevestnik(SSC-X-9 Skyfall) missile is similar to Project Pluto. 

But modern systems can be more capable than those past projects. China tests new engine systems that base the use of liquid or molten uranium. The system injects that uranium into the rocket engine and it should give more punch than any other fission rocket system. The molten uranium makes the engine run very hot. And then the system will expand the fuel very much. That system will be more capable than NERVA but the problem is to keep its temperature low enough. AI-based solutions and new materials make that kind of system more powerful. 

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/rocket-lab-rocket-experiment-global-cargo-delivery

https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/slam-pics.htm

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/tech-demo-missions-program/nuclear-thermal-propulsion-game-changing-technology-for-deep-space-exploration/

https://nasa.fandom.com/wiki/NERVA

 https://newatlas.com/military/cargo-rocket-land-90-minutes/

https://www.sustainability-times.com/energy/china-caught-off-guard-as-u-s-unleashes-liquid-uranium-rocket-to-conquer-mars-with-unmatched-nuclear-speed/

https://thedefensepost.com/2022/09/13/sierra-space-pentagon-rocket-cargo/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9M730_Burevestnik

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NERVA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto

Venus Aerospace Inc. created the Mach 6 engine. That can start on runways.

Image via Hermeus

It's possible to send a shuttle from the regular runways to space using the ramjet engines. The biggest problem is how to make air travel through ramjet. Because that engine does not have moving parts. 

In the most conventional solutions, the ramjet engine will start at Mach 1. The aircraft can accelerate to Mach 1 using regular jet engines. When the speed is high enough, the system closes the engine compressors and lets the fuel-air mixture travel to the ramjet. 

The main problem with Ramjet engines is that they do not involve moving parts. One solution that can solve this problem is the pulse ramjet. The pulse ramjet is a similar system to the pulsejet, but its engine tube is transferred to the ramjet engine. In pulsejets, the flap system allows the engine to create thrust even if the aircraft doesn't move. 

There is the possibility of installing pulsejet separately from ramjet. The pulsejet accelerates the craft to a speed of about Mach 1. Then the system puts aerodynamic shields on the pulsejet. And injects fuel into the ramjet. There is the possibility that the pulsejet is installed in the ramjet engine tube. The system's purpose is to put air flow backward. 

There are tested systems like the flap system that are similar to the system that was used in the WW2 German V-1 missile. 

The flap ramjet uses a differently shaped engine tube that the V-1 missile's engine uses. And that allows the system to start on runways. This engine system requires a separate ignition system until the speed is so high, that the airflow from the front of the engine can create so high temperature and pressure that the fuel-air mixture burn turns self-sustaining. 

Illustration of Venus Aerospace's Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine for hypersonic travel. Image generated by AI. (Sustainability “Mach 6 From a Runway”: US Unveils Hypersonic Jet Engine That Could Redefine Military Airpower and Global Strike Speed)

Pulsejet

Diagram of a valved pulsejet. 1 - Air enters through the valve and is mixed with fuel. 2 - The mixture is ignited, expands, closes the valve and exits through the tailpipe, creating thrust.3 - Low pressure in the engine opens the valve and draws in air. (Wikipedia, pulsejet). One of the most promising variants of the pulsejet is a pulse detonation engine (PDE) 

"A pulse detonation engine (PDE) is a type of propulsion system that uses detonation waves to combust the fuel and oxidizer mixture. The engine is pulsed because the mixture must be renewed in the combustion chamber between each detonation wave and the next. Theoretically, a PDE can operate from subsonic up to a hypersonic flight speed of roughly Mach 5. " (Wikipedia, Pulse detonation engine)

"An ideal PDE design can have a thermodynamic efficiency higher than other designs like turbojets and turbofans because a detonation wave rapidly compresses the mixture and adds heat at constant volume. Consequently, moving parts like compressor spools are not necessarily required in the engine, which could significantly reduce overall weight and cost. Key issues for further development include fast and efficient mixing of the fuel and oxidizer, the prevention of autoignition, and integration with an inlet and nozzle."  (Wikipedia, Pulse detonation engine)

Ramjet

Simple ramjet operation, with Mach numbers of flow shown (Wikipedia, Ramjet). 

Rotation detonation engine (RDE)

In some cases, the system can use separate compressors and acoustic systems that form pressure waves. Like pistons in the engine. That kind of high-pressure system can create so much heat that the fuel-air mixture can ignite. 

The system works in a similar principle to a diesel engine, where a piston that goes up creates pressure and temperature that allows fuel-air-mixture burn. There are also plans to use the small hypersonic wind tunnels that pull air through the ramjet or scramjet. That makes it possible to ignite those engine systems on runways. Things like explosives behind the engine tube are tested for making the airflow. If the hypersonic engine can start on the runway that makes the ramjets more effective and decreases their weight. 

The system called rocket ramjet can transport spacecraft to orbit from regular runways. The air-breathing ramjet engine transports aircraft to the high atmosphere. There the engine closes its iris. Then the system will start to inject fuel and oxygen into the engine. That gives the spaceplane or antipode aircraft the capacity to operate variously in the atmosphere and space. 

The main problem with ramjet and scramjet engines is the compressor. The compressor's mission is to make air flowing through the engine. Hypersonic technology is challenging because the compressors might not stand the airflow. There is the possibility to make metal rings where the turbine wings are connected. The magnets pull the ring to the axle, and that helps to resist the centripetal force. 

The other version is the rotation detonation (rocket) engine (RDE, RD(R)E). That system base is in the screw-shaped structure in the engine tube. The special compressor and maybe acoustic systems send a fuel-and-air mixture to travel in the screw-shaped structure. One of the solutions that can allow the use of the compressor to operate at the speed of Mach 6 and above can be the "umbrella solution". 

The system turns the engine compressor's wings against the axle when the speed turns high enough. The system can use some kind of electric system. That makes the electric arc in the engine. The compressor is needed to aim the airflow in the right direction. 

The idea is that the friction in that screw or riffled structure ignites the fuel. The system can use some kind of electromagnetic system to heat up the fuel. The ability to start on the regular runways makes those new hypersonic systems travel. At every point on Earth in 90 minutes. The system can revolutionize warfare and transportation. 

https://militaryembedded.com/unmanned/test/hypersonic-drone-to-take-first-flight-later-this-year

https://www.sustainability-times.com/research/mach-6-from-a-runway-us-unveils-hypersonic-jet-engine-that-could-redefine-military-airpower-and-global-strike-speed/

https://wccftech.com/nasa-test-rare-supersonic-rocket-engine-with-circular-combustion/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsejet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_detonation_engine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_detonation_engine

The coldest place in the universe unveils the secrets of antimatter.

"Borexino is a highly sensitive neutrino detector located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in central Italy. Situated deep underground, it uses an ultrapure liquid scintillator to detect low-energy solar neutrinos and study the fundamental properties of neutrinos and solar processes. Credit: Borexino Collaboration" (ScitechDaily, The Coldest Place in the Universe Is Unlocking Antimatter Mysteries)

The reason why antimatter research happens in the cold place is simple. The cold place stabilizes the material and minimizes its oscillation. The thing that makes the difference between matter and antimatter is the electric charge. The antimatter electron or positron has a positive charge and the antiproton has a negative charge. 

The antineutron spins oppositely to the neutron. Normally people say that the turn of the spin makes those antimatter particles. But then we must realize that the electrons and other particles like protons spin is 1/2 and that means they turn back and worth. So the spin is not the answer to the difference between matter and antimatter. 

The thing that makes antimatter interesting is its high energy capacity. When an antimatter particle touches its mirror-particle both of those things turn into energy. That reaction is called an annihilation reaction. The antimatter engine would be an excellent tool for travel inside the solar system and maybe to the stars. Antimatter is very expensive. 

Artists's impression of antimatter rocket. In visions all antimatter rockets are long. That keeps the engine and nuclear reactor away from the cabin and protects it against radiation. Also, the accelerator requires length so that it can accelerate particles enough. The system uses a nuclear fission reactor to start the antimatter system. But when annihilation starts the system can turn to use annihilation as an energy source and the nuclear fission reactor can shut down. 

The particle accelerators produce that thing. Antimatter is a very dangerous material. About a gram of that thing can destroy the entire Earth. Reseachers are made magnetic storages for antimatter antimatter particles hover in magnetic fields in a vacuum. That denies the antimatter particles touching the wall of the chamber. 

In the newest plans, the antimatter engine can make the antimatter by using a particle accelerator that gets energy from the nuclear reactors. The system shoots electrons through the thin gold layer that turns them into anti-electrons. Then those anti-electrons or positrons will be injected into a reaction chamber where they react with hydrogen or electrons. And that creates lots of energy. 

Researchers introduced many military applications of antimatter. The "Teller's bomb" the antimatter bomb would be the most horrifying weapon that man ever invented. The system uses antimatter as an explosive. Basically, Teller's bomb is the cathode ray that travels through the antimatter transformation process. Or. It's only the magnetic chamber where antimatter hovers. Then explosive breaks its shell. That thing makes it possible to create a cigarette-size nuclear bomb that destroys the entire city. 

But there are made plans about things called "limited Teller's bomb". The system is actually a bullet there is a magnetic chamber. The antiprotons or positrons hover in that chamber. That allows to creation of a handgun bullet that destroys the aircraft carrier. 

https://scitechdaily.com/the-coldest-place-in-the-universe-is-unlocking-antimatter-mysteries/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_rocket

The new types of engines use cold atoms to make electricity.

   The new types of engines use cold atoms to make electricity. 

The new piston engine creates energy from ultra-cold atoms. The idea is that those ultra-cold atoms will be injected into the chamber. There the explosion of the ultra-cold atoms moves the piston. 

The new type of engine creates energy from ultra-cold atoms. The engine benefits energy flow between objects in different energy levels. The energy always flows from a higher energy level to a lower energy level. 

The first Stirling engines used hot air. The design of that engine is from the 19th century. Then the steam and combustion engines replaced that system. The Stirling engines can use solar power for making needed thermodifference. And that thing makes them promising tools for green engineering. 

But basically, engineers can make the same eff by using a room temperature system. And on the other side will be a box, filled with a block of extremely ice. In that engine the air flow is important. And the thing that makes this airflow is the difference in temperatures on both sides of the engine. 

The most interesting version of the Stirling engine is the Stirling turbine, where pistons are replaced by turbine. As I just wrote those systems benefit airflow between two different temperature levels. The system is the pressure-version of the systems that benefit electron or radio wave flow between energy layers. 

The engines that benefit from this energy flow are called Striling or Coulomb engines. 

Does the engine be a Stirling or Coulomb engine, depends on this: Do those engines use gas flow or electromagnetic flow where things like electrons travel between two layers with different energy levels or different electronegativity? In some versions of the Coulomb engine, the proton cloud or some other positive ion group is on the other side of the tube. 

The Coulomb engine uses electromagnetic flow or electron (or proton) flow for making energy. There are two versions of the Coulomb engine. The first version uses electron flow etc. The second version uses the Coulomb effect or "dam effect". 

Diagram the Piston-Stiling engine. (Wikipedia/Stirling engine). In Stirling turbine the gas flow travels in tube. And then that gas flow rotates the flywheel. 

"Alpha-type Stirling engine. There are two cylinders. The expansion cylinder (red) is maintained at a high temperature while the compression cylinder (blue) is cooled. The passage between the two cylinders contains the regenerator" (Wikipedia,Stirling engine)

"Beta-type Stirling engine, with only one cylinder, hot at one end and cold at the other. A loose-fitting displacer shunts the air between the hot and cold ends of the cylinder. A power piston at the open end of the cylinder drives the flywheel. (Wikipedia/Stirling engine)

"Cutaway of the flat Stirling engine: 10: Hot cylinder. 11: A volume of hot cylinder. 12: B volume of hot cylinder. 17: Warm piston diaphragm. 18: Heating medium. 19: Piston rod. 20: Cold cylinder. 21: A Volume of cold cylinder. 22: B Volume of cold cylinder. 27: Cold piston diaphragm. 28: Coolant medium. 30: Working cylinder. 31: A volume of working cylinder. 32: B volume of working cylinder. 37: Working piston diaphragm. 41: Regenerator mass of A volume. 42: Regenerator mass of B volume. 48: Heat accumulator. 50: Thermal insulation. 60: Generator. 63: Magnetic circuit. 64: Electrical winding. 70: Channel connecting warm and working cylinders." (Wikipedia/Stirling engine)

When electric flow faces a resistor it will pack energy at the front of it. That energy packing and energy level continues rising until the energy can travel through that resistor. That thing is possible by using natural radio fields. But that requires a situation where the energy level rises high enough. Or the system uses components that are using very low energy. The superconducting systems can make this system possible. 

The idea is that radio waves are transmitted between two layers. Those layers will collect that wave movement between them. Then the system puts the antenna in those standing waves and pulls them to an electric circuit. 

The Stirling engine uses gas flow to make energy. Modern submarines use Stirling engines. But the reason why that engine type is not so popular or why piston engines replaced that engine is keeping the other side of the engine cooler is difficult without good coolers. 

The thing that moves in the tube determines if the engine is the Stirling or Coulomb engine. 

And then the other side is loaded with anions. The electrons should travel from anions to ions and the antenna in the middle of the tube can use that electron flow as an energy source. A Stirling engine is a system or tube where another side's temperature is at a lower level than the other. 

And that thing causes gas flow to the cooler side. The difference between energy levels between the sides of the Coulomb and Stirling engines determines how fast energy flows. And that determines the power of those systems.  

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2394278-quantum-engine-could-power-devices-with-an-ultracold-atom-cloud/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-independent_propulsion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine

The interstellar version of "Project Orion" would use antimatter bombs for accelerating its speed to interstellar level.

The interstellar version of "Project Orion" would use antimatter bombs for accelerating its speed to interstellar level.

"Project Orion" was the attempt to create nuclear-powered spacecraft by using the method, where the nuclear bombs would give punch to that spacecraft. Those nuclear bombs were planned to detonate behind spacecraft, and that thing would give extremely great punch for the spacecraft, what would travel in our solar system. If those nuclear bombs would be replaced with antimatter bombs, that system would be used to create the interstellar version of the "Orion" spacecraft.

But the stars would be a little bit too far away. The punch of that system would be extremely tough, and the system was planned to use many small-sized nuclear detonators, what size would be something like between one or two kilotonnes. Those bombs would be detonated as the salvo behind the craft, and that thing would happen by using frequency about one nuclear bomb per day.

Another thing what the system would use in those purposes is the series of neutron bombs, which would make the accelerating process softer. In that case, the Orion spacecraft would start the accelerating by using small nuclear detonators, and then the craft would turn to use bigger nuclear bombs and then the last used system would be 50 mt. hydrogen bomb.

This thing has given ideas to create the interstellar version of the Orion spacecraft. In that case, the detonated nuclear devices must have extreme power. The one way to use "Orion" spacecraft is to replace the normal nuclear bombs with hydrogen bombs as I just wrote or even antimatter bombs, what would give that spacecraft even greater punch, what nobody expected.

But what kind of system would be the interstellar version of Orion spacecraft be? That hypothetical long-enduring version of this nuclear-powered version of "Orion" spacecraft might be a hybrid version of solar sail and nuclear detonation using spacecraft. The solar sail would give the first acceleration, and then the craft would start to use antimatter bombs, which will create an extremely high punch.

The problem with antimatter bombes is that if something goes wrong, and they will explode, the detonation of those devices would destroy the entire planet, or turn some moon away from the trajectory. That's why those antimatter bombs must be created outside of our solar system by using the particle accelerators.

Form of the antimatter bombs is very simple. They are magnetic chambers, where the antimatter or antimatter ions has been stored. And when those devices would be detonated the magnet field, what denies those particles to touch the core of those magnet chambers or bottles just removed. The antimatter particles would touch the core, and then the system would be exploded. The name of that device is also "Teller's bomb", which is the most powerful explosive device, what mankind has ever invented.

When the interstellar "Orion" craft would be loaded by those bombs, that operation could be very complicated. Those devices would be created outside the Kuiper belt, and in this operation, the "Orion" spacecraft would travel outside our solar system as the normal solar sails or the device what would get speed from the particle accelerators, what will target their sails.

And when that probe would be in a safe distance, the stages, where those bottles of antimatter have been stored would dock with the probe. That means the stages would be driven to the probe with a very high speed, and then those antimatter systems would be ready to use. The thing is that the breaking the "Orion" would need as many antimatter bombs as the accelerating, that the project would be extremely difficult to make. But maybe in one day, this kind of devices would take mankind to another solar system.