LPP Experiment:  8 goals and timeline

The LPP crew has accomplished their first technical goal for the experimental program.  The achievement of a pinch means that the machine is doing what they designed it to do, which is to transfer energy into a tiny plasmoid.  Seven goals remain.

By end of 2009

LPP is hoping to achieve the following goals by the end of 2009.

At 25kV:  Produce 1 MA, determine optiumum gas pressure

LPP’s second technical goal is to get the machine to functional 25kV, the lowest planned experimental voltage, and to produce more than 1 MA of current.  They will also very shortly switch over to running with deuterium and thus achieve their first fusion reactions with FF-1. In achieving this goal, they will also determine the optimum gas pressure for this current.

Test theory of axial magnetic field

The third goal is to test the theory that adding a small axial magnetic field, and thus a small amount of angular momentum, to the plasma will greatly increase the size of the plasmoids and thus the efficiency of energy transfer into the plasmoid.

Move to 45kV, 2MA, with Deuterium

The fourth goal is to increase the charging potential on the machine, by 5 kV steps, up to the full capacity of 45 kV and in the process achieve a peak current of about 2 MA with deuterium.

Confirm Texas results, with better instruments

The fifth goal is to confirm the Texas results of high temperature and density, but with far more complete diagnostic instruments.

By end of 2010

These last three goals LPP plans to achieve by the end of 2010.

Heavier Gases:  D + He + N, and shorter electrodes

The sixth goal is to confirm LPP’s theory that heavier gases will lead to higher compression and to thereby achieve gigagauss field. This will involve running with combination of D, He and perhaps N and will also involve replacing the electrodes with shorter ones, which they predict will be optimized for the heavier gases. These experiments are more complex and will be more time-consuming.

pB₁₁

The seventh goal is to demonstrate some fusion burn with pB₁₁ fuel.

Net energy

The eighth and final goal will be to demonstrate the scientific feasibly of producing net energy with pB₁₁.