DOC: H10-SPEC-2.1 CLASS: ENGINEERING BUILD
SYSTEM NOMINAL

HAMILTON-10

Tritium Water Processor

10-Stack Plasma Core System — 5 Upper / 5 Lower Rings

Overview

The Hamilton-10 is a magnetized low-temperature plasma processor designed specifically for tritiated water (HTO / T₂O) detritiation and isotope recovery. The 10-ring stacked architecture creates a resonant beta-decoupling field tuned to tritium’s 18.6 keV endpoint.

Feed water passes sequentially through five upper conditioning rings, a central plasma core (C0), then five lower recovery rings. Each ring generates a cryptographic artifact, forming a verifiable Hamiltonian path.

Critical Clarification

Processes HTO/T₂O only. Does NOT process H₂O₃ (trioxidane) — the molecule is metastable and does not exist in bulk water under STP. Any H₂O₃ claims indicate feed contamination or sensor error.

Stack Diagram

U5 U4 U3 U2 U1 C0 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5

Hover rings to inspect • Click to jump to build step

Technical Specifications

Flow Rate 12.5 L/hr nominal (HTO/T₂O feed), 8–15 L/hr operational range
Isotope Separation Efficiency >99.997% tritium removal @ 20°C feed, <10 Bq/L output target
Plasma Core Type Magnetized low-temp, 18.6 keV beta resonance (E×B drift confinement)
Power Requirements 4.2 kW peak / 2.8 kW steady — 240VAC 3φ + 48VDC control bus
Dimensions 580 mm Ø × 1,240 mm H (stack), 187 kg dry weight
Materials 316L stainless vessel, boron-doped diamond electrodes, YBCO superconductors @77K, sapphire viewports
Helium-3 Capture Rate 0.8 – 1.4 mL STP/day per 100 L feed @ 10 Ci/L (L2 cryo-trap)
Operating Pressure Core: 1×10⁻⁴ Torr, Rings: 0.8–1.2 bar absolute
Coolant Closed-loop LN₂ (77K) for YBCO + He cryocooler (4K stage for L2)

Build Sheet — 10-Stack Assembly

Upper Stack (Intake & Conditioning)

01

U5 — Intake Vortex

Laminar vortex chamber with 40kHz ultrasonic degasser. Removes dissolved gases, prevents bubble nucleation in core.

316L, Ra 0.4μm • ±0.5 L/hr

02

U4 — Isotopic Pre-Filter

Pd-Ag membrane (100nm). Passes protium preferentially, concentrates HTO/T₂O by 4–6×.

Pd77Ag23 • 350°C op

03

U3 — Cryogenic Distillation

25K cascade column. Separates T₂O (bp 101.5°C) from HTO via vapor pressure difference.

Cu OFHC • LN₂ cooled

04

U2 — Find-The-Zero Stage

Null-field trap tunes E×B to minimize tritium-hydride formation. Locks to 18.6 keV resonance.

Calibration critical • auto-tune

05

U1 — Phase-Space Buffer

4T magneto-optical buffer holds 0.5L, provides uniform density pulse to core.

YBCO ring • 10ms jitter

Central Plasma Core

06

C0 — Plasma Core

Magnetized low-temperature plasma (10⁻⁴ Torr). Resonant beta-decoupling strips T from water via 18.6 keV impact ionization. T⁺ extracted radially.

Field: 5.2T axial
Power: 1.8kW RF
Electrodes: BDD
Temp: ~4,000K e⁻

Provenance & Accountability

10 artifacts generated — one per ring (U5→L5). C0 requires dual human authorization.

ART-01 ART-02 ART-03 ART-04 ART-05 ART-06 ART-07 ART-08 ART-09 ART-10

Hamiltonian path validation: each artifact hash includes previous, enforcing sequential processing with no bypass.

Lower Stack (Recovery & Output)

07

L1 — Recombination

Pt/Al₂O₃ catalytic recombiner reforms detritiated O and H/D into clean water.

250°C • <0.1% T carryover

08

L2 — Helium-3 Trap

Cryo-adsorption at 4K on zeolite. Captures ³He decay product from tritium.

0.8–1.4 mL/day @10Ci/L

09

L3 — Mineral Rebalance

Controlled remineralization with Ca/Mg. Ensures output potability.

Target 80–120 ppm TDS

10

L4 — Provenance Logger

Cryptographic hasher writes ART-06 to ART-10. Seals Hamiltonian path.

SHA3-512 • TPM 2.0

11

L5 — Output Gate

Final tritium monitor and fail-safe valve. Requires human release if >10 Bq/L.

Dual scintillator • NC valve

Tritium Safety Notes

  • •Beta emitter: 18.6 keV max (avg 5.7 keV). No external penetration — internal hazard only.
  • •Use double containment, negative pressure (-50 Pa), and continuous air monitors.
  • •PPE: nitrile double gloves, tritium-impermeable suit for >1 Ci/L feed.
  • •3H exchanges with water — no skin absorption barrier. Prevent ingestion/inhalation.
  • •L2 ³He vent is non-radioactive but cryogenic — O₂ deficiency hazard.

Hamiltonian Path Accountability

Each of the 10 rings produces an immutable artifact. The system validates that ART-01 → ART-10 forms a single Hamiltonian path — visiting each stage exactly once, in order. Skipping, reordering, or replaying a ring breaks the hash chain and halts C0 ignition.

Human-in-the-loop enforced at two checkpoints: C0 plasma strike and L5 release. Both require independent operator keys.