New Forms of Chemical and (Sub) Atomic Energy

[Catman]

Hello. Are there new forms of chemical and (sub) atomic enegy that have been created or discovered?

[Finagle]

In order for us to know what “new” is, you’ll have to list all the ones you’re aware of.

[Lumpy]

The current known forms of nuclear energy are radioactive decay (not controllable); neutron-induced fission chain reactions in heavy elements; thermonuclear fusion of light elements; and antimatter annihilation. Recently there was speculation that there might be another: nuclear isomer de-excitation. There were claims that one nuclear isotope, 178 Hafnium -m2, could be made to liberate all it’s energy immediately by bombarding it with x-rays of a certain frequency. That claim is now in doubt, but you can read Wikipedia’s article on it HERE and follow the links.

[Excalibre]

@Lumpy

The current known forms of nuclear energy are radioactive decay (not controllable); neutron-induced fission chain reactions in heavy elements; thermonuclear fusion of light elements; and antimatter annihilation. Recently there was speculation that there might be another: nuclear isomer de-excitation. There were claims that one nuclear isotope, 178 Hafnium -m2, could be made to liberate all it’s energy immediately by bombarding it with x-rays of a certain frequency. That claim is now in doubt, but you can read Wikipedia’s article on it HERE and follow the links.

Dammit, I was gonna say that. Pretty fascinating idea, but there’s no evidence that it can be controlled in order to make it useful. Still, that’s a type of energy slightly different from radioactivity, even if it can never be made into a useful tool.