Brian H wrote:
My opinion is that you can get net energy output from fusion by being very big (a star) to contain the forces involved, or very small (FF plasmoids). Attempting to maintain steady-state fusion in the “middle world” of human-scale devices is a very marginal, possibly fruitless, undertaking, partly because of the non-linear nature of the energy fluxes involved. They tend to spike and burst through any containment and wreak havoc.

We understand that, but funders seem to need something tangible like toroidal electromagnets 8 feet across that weigh tons. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a picture of a tokamak’s interior, for instance.

Judo’s strategy of using the opponent’s momentum against him was universally known in the early 60’s, but the entire confinement coil mentality harks back to the “macho is its own reward” era- mainly the 50s and beyond. Actually it never really died, people just began expressing it through big cars, big dogs, big budgets, big magnets, etc. That’s why I’m targeting Visionaries who aren’t overly concerned with what the crowd thinks. People who appreciate elegant design, such as Judo.

Maybe we could use the buzzword “Go With The Flow!”