Fossils or Fusion?  Your Energy Future

Thanks to Mark Nelson for completing this fabulous video!

Technical help:  I’ve uploaded it to Youtube and embedded it here.  The original video (.mov) is available here.   Note some difference in the sound synch between the two vids.  Is there any way I can correct that on Youtube?  Also, how do I change the still image?  I want to have the starburst as the placeholder.  Let me know.  And now, Enjoy:

Decaborane and the Vacuum System

Murali and Alex discuss the effects of decaborane on the vacuum system.

Decaborane Handling Issues:  Design Modifications for pB11 Fusion Research

LPPX is starting to plan for the modification of the chamber to use the decaborane gas.  For this purpose, the chamber has to be heated and has to be maintained at 100-120oC to keep the decaborane gas from condensing.  A separate chamber is needed to store the solid decaborane.  Several other design modifications are required such as protection of the pumping system against fouling by boron particles.

Below is an email string that addresses issues related to decaborane handling.

Hydrogen-Boron vs. Deuterium-Tritium

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).

The Trouble with Tritium

27 kg and decaying.

Conventional Fusion vs. Focus Fusion

Energy production has three main elements:  fuel, reactor and generator (why these three?).  Conventional fusion and focus fusion differ significantly in their approach to these three elements:

• Fuel:  Focus Fusion uses a different fuel, hydrogen and boron, rather than the conventional Deuterium and Tritium. 
• Reactor:  It uses a much smaller, inexpensive, more elegant reactor, the Dense Plasma Focus.  In contrast, conventional approaches to fusion revolve around the tokamak, a large, unwieldy and very expensive device that has consumed billions of dollars in research money and is still very far from achieving net energy. 
• Generator:The Focus Fusion approach seeks to generate electricity directly. The tokamak is designed to generate heat which then has to be converted to electricity using expensive turbines and generators.

What is “Focus Fusion”?

pB¹¹ + DPF

“Focus Fusion” refers to electricity generation using a Dense Plasma Focus (DPF)  nuclear fusion generator with hydrogen-boron fuel (pB¹¹).

Main Criticisms

There are two main criticisms of focus fusion:

1. Hydrogen-boron fuel allows too much x-ray cooling
2. Plasmoids can’t exist

How does the Helium from focus fusion turn into Electricity?

Why not try Deuterium-Tritium first?