About FFS

All about the Focus Fusion Society (FFS).

Aneutronic Fusion

Aneutronic fusion means fusion that does not produce neutrons as a by-product (<99%). For many reasons, most studies of aneutronic fusion concentrate on pB¹¹ fuel.

How Green Is It?

How green is Focus Fusion? Aneutronic fusion has the potential to change the entire world by producing cheap, truly clean, truly safe energy and allowing access to electricity throughout the developing world. It's the greenest thing we can imagine.

Future Shock

For most human beings, any change, even a positive one, raises anxiety levels. Here we discuss the dream of a fusion world and the ordeal of change - the issues that must be addressed to transition from our world to a fusion world.

• Fusion World

  What does a world that runs on focus fusion look like? Consider a world with safe, cheap, clean, unlimited energy. It's hard to imagine because it's so different from what we have now. Here we develop the vision and explore the possibilities.

• Transition

  Focus Fusion, if proven to work, is a transformative technology.
  
  If the Plasma Focus device works as theorized, it means that, within a decade, cheap power stations will be popping up all over the world, completely transforming the energy, resource, economic and political dynamics that we are currently operating under.
  
  This section looks at ways to facilitate the transition to fusion world, to make it as universally beneficial as possible.

Press

Focus Fusion in the media.

Get Involved

Focus Fusion won't happen by itself. It will take the dedicated effort of many people to pull it off. [Note: Would like to set this page up similar to "Do Something".

What is Focus Fusion?

The fusion of hydrogen & boron (pB¹¹) fuel using the Dense Plasma Focus (DPF).

• Dense Plasma Focus

  The Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) is the reactor that will be used for the Focus Fusion energy generation process. This section takes us from the invention of the DPF in 1964 by Mather and Fillipov, through the theories of Eric Lerner as to its operation, and to the present efforts to configure the DPF for net energy production in a fusion reaction.

• Hydrogen Boron (pB11) Fuel

  Nuclear fusion has the potential to generate power without the radioactive waste of nuclear fission, but that depends on which atoms you decide to fuse. Conventional fusion approaches work with deuterium and tritium (DT), while focus fusion works with hydrogen and boron eleven (pB11).

LPP Experiment

Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (LPP) has embarked on a Two-Year Experiment to test Focus Fusion, i.e., Hydrogen-Boron Fusion using the Dense Plasma Focus. Here you can find reports on the progress of Focus Fusion, including past experiments, fundraising hurdles, and the current two year series of experiments.

For highlights only, see the Focus Fusion Milestones.

• Theory

  What is the concept being tested by LPP? That a modified DPF can achieve net energy with pB₁₁ fuel.

• DPF Design

  How was the experimental reactor designed? What are its parts & systems?

• Methodology

  There's no light bulb connected to the experimental DPF. So how do we know if fusion has taken place?
  
  Sorry for the mess below. This section started out being about the Scientific Method. It's going to now be the specific methodology pursued by LPP, with a subcategory on scientific method. Please stand by.
  
  LPP has a hypothesis, and they're not afraid to test it.
  
  Skepticism is a great tool for the advancement of science. At the Focus Fusion Society, we are skeptical of the Tokamak approach and think the LPP device is vastly superior. But we can't know that it is, we can't even guarantee that it works, until LPP conducts their experiments and obtains proof-of-concept. Unfortunately, this sets up a chicken and egg scenario - funding for research at the proof-of-concept stage is hard to come by, since people want to be sure something works before funding it. But you can't prove it works until you try it. So you need the research money (Note: LPP is still short of the money needed to complete the experiments. If you are an investor, you can contact them directly).
  
  What happens to the scientific method in the internet/social media age? LPP has graciously allowed FFS to witness and document their experiments. Most of the documentation will be held in reserve until the experiments are done - at which point they will be turned into a documentary. However, some information will be made available to the general public on an ongoing basis. This makes some people uncomfortable. Here, indeed, is LPP's policy on data release, in light of scientific method considerations. In the meantime, we are fair game for a host of skeptics and welcome the scrutiny.

• Instruments

  Discussion of each of the instruments, what they measure, and how this relates to showing how much fusion has taken place.
  
  [It will be a while before we set up this section. In the meantime, you can Google the following instruments to be used by LPP: ICCD Camera, Pinhole Camera, X-ray lens, 3 Scintillators - PMT Xray detectors, each behind different thicknesses of copper filter, x-ray spectrometer, neutron time of flight detectors, Faraday cups with graphite collector surfaces, Rogowski coils - signalled by oscilloscopes, high voltage probes...and a few more.]

• Updates

  Notes on the progress of the LPP experiment. Blog-style.

• Troubleshooting

  In any experiment, things come up that must be ironed out.

• Analysis

  Analysis of results.

• Simulations

  Simulations.

• Personnel

  This section is supposed to be about LPP Experimenters. Some FFS folk may have slipped in. Still organizing. Key researchers: Eric Lerner, Murali Subramanian, Abdelmoula Haboub, John Thompson. Current and former collaborators: John Guillory (George Mason University), Robert E. Terry, (Naval Research Laboratory), Juilio Herrera (National Autonomous University of Mexico).

• History

  How did this all come about? How long have we been pursuing this question?

• Milestones

  Actions or events marking a significant change or stage in the development of Focus Fusion.

How Hard Is It?

Fusion faces serious technical challenges. Splitting the atom is a walk in the park compared to fusing atoms. If DT fusion is difficult, aneutronic fusion faces even more daunting challenges.

Fusion - net energy from a controlled fusion reaction - has managed to elude researchers for over 60 years. What is so difficult about fusion? Why is it easier to blow stuff up than to coax out a steady supply of energy? "Fusion challenge" looks at the technical challenges fusion researchers face. For mainstream researchers, working on the Tokamak and Magnetic Fusion energy, the technical challenges have been summed up in the ReNeW project. For alternative fusion researchers, the information is more scattered. This section will look at the challenges the dpf has to overcome, and begin to compile the information on challenges faced by other approaches. It also looks at the specific challenges facing the DPF as a fusion reactor. The section on "aneutronic fusion" defines aneutronic fusion and talks about the even greater technical difficulty of achieving it. Aneutronic fusion is one of the most difficult problems in the world to solve - and will be the most rewarding if it is solved. On the front lines of facing this challenge are a smattering of physicists, and a whole lot of resistance.

• The Fusion Challenge

  Fusion faces serious technical challenges. Splitting the atom is a walk in the park compared to fusing atoms. If DT fusion is difficult, aneutronic fusion faces even more daunting challenges.

• Innovation Challenge

  On the road to testing focus fusion, we have encountered many of the ups and downs common to innovators. All innovators face the challenge of raising capital for their ideas and the risk of failure. It's a long, daunting road to travel, littered with the broken hearts and dreams of many a valiant soul who never made it to the end. Here is a look at the role of markets, technology, government, individuals, prizes, luck and determination in taking the weary innovator all the way. When markets are structured to enable the formation of risk capital, entrepreneurs and their ideas will have the proper funding to become a reality. Here is a look at the structural issues and how they have affected focus fusion's access to risk capital. We also explore the role of technology in connecting us to investors. Finally, we regret that the SEC does not allow micro-investors at this time, and discuss the long-tail ramifications of this.

Fusion Race

For mankind, fusion energy has proven difficult to achieve. Much more difficult than fission. And yet, we have no sense of urgency. Humanity has yet to launch an all out race for fusion. Fusion funding is marked by miserly caution. A consortium of fusion scientists have worked towards a consensus of the most probable avenue to making two main types of fusion work - at the expense of all other approaches out there. Meanwhile, many of the other approaches are delusional, or even fraudulent. It's time to take a look at the playing field and define the race for fusion. Sort through the contenders, see if we can establish a fusion prize, and talk about the uncertainties inherent in the pursuit of this knowledge. Let's have fun while we pursue fusion - turn it into a sporting event, complete with gambling - betting on fusion, cheering along our favorite teams!

• Betting on Fusion

  The quest for fusion is fraught with uncertainty. No one has every achieved net energy from a controlled nuclear fusion reaction before. How do you evaluate a proposal on fusion? How can we hedge our bets? This section explores the quest for knowledge in the reality of uncertainty.

• Government Role

  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory funded focus fusion work up to 2001 via the Advanced Space Propulsion program (same focus fusion science, different application). In 2001, the ASP was defunded and Focus Fusion was one of many programs left to fend for itself. Since then, we have applied for several government grants, without much success. We also find ourselves ineligible for a host of grants due to our "nuclear" status.
  
  This section looks at our history of government funding, our attempts to change the rules (to pass laws that define "aneutronic fusion" as "renewable energy") and the emerging possibility of direct government action through ARPA-E and the stimulus plan.

• Fusion Prize

  A field-tested method for stimulating innovation in a given field is the "science prize". We've heard a lot these days about space prizes and carbon-sequestration prizes. It's time for a really useful prize - the aneutronic fusion prize!
  
  The focus fusion society is actively lobbying for an innovation prize for the development of net energy, aneutronic fusion. We're looking for wealthy people, foundations, or countries that will take on the challenge of furnishing said prize and sparking the aneutronic fusion race.

• Contenders

  Who are the candidates in the race for fusion energy?

Learning Center

Coming soon: FFS Learning Materials

• Glossary

  glossary |ˈgläsərē; ˈglô-| noun ( pl. -ries) an alphabetical list of terms or words found in or relating to a specific subject, text, or dialect, with explanations; a brief dictionary.

• Plasma Physics

  The science behind the Focus Fusion approach is based on plasma physics.
  
  "In physics and chemistry, plasma is a partially ionized gas, in which a certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to an atom or molecule. The ability of the positive and negative charges to move somewhat independently makes the plasma electrically conductive so that it responds strongly to electromagnetic fields. Plasma therefore has properties quite unlike those of solids, liquids or gases and is considered to be a distinct state of matter. "

Plasma Network

Coming soon: Jobs, Research programs, educational programs, articles, etc.

Fun

Based on alliteration alone, I think we can have fun with Focus Fusion.