Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 39 total)
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  • #9279
    AaronB
    Participant

    @zapkitty, yes, $5M should easily get us through Phase 1 (assuming it works as hoped), and will give us a good start into Phase 2, which entails development of all those things you listed above. As far as R&D projects go, $5M is cheap, and considering how much we’ve been able to accomplish with ~$2M so far, I think we’re doing very well.

    #9282
    MTd2
    Participant

    The problem with fusion in general is the secrecy of its results. Such doesn`t happen in most of areas of science and nowadays there are great databases with free access to preprints or updated preprints with the published results. So, most of research doesn`t give back to the world Christmas gifts, so it is expected that people do not care about it not pressure for more funding.

    This is the purpose of websites like http://arxiv.org . Lerner posted there, as well many important original papers on his web page, so he opened his ideas for everyone to see and collaborate. This is what LPPX is doing different, giving back gifts to the world.

    I wish I could collaborate with LPPX. I became a member of FFS because since it works close to it and I thought I would get more detailed reports from LPPX. I requested Rezwan for the older and more accurate reports, but he didn`t answer me… And, what happened to the December report? Was it briefed already or my email is still not included among the members?

    #9283
    Rezwan
    Participant

    MTd2 wrote: The problem with fusion in general is the secrecy of its results. Such doesn`t happen in most of areas of science and nowadays there are great databases with free access to preprints or updated preprints with the published results. So, most of research doesn`t give back to the world Christmas gifts, so it is expected that people do not care about it not pressure for more funding.

    I think a lot of the information on fusion is available. Perhaps you have to pay for it via journals, so it’s not free. But it’s not secret – well, except the portions that overlap with stockpile stewardship.

    I wish I could collaborate with LPPX. I became a member of FFS because since it works close to it and I thought I would get more detailed reports from LPPX. I requested Rezwan for the older and more accurate reports, but he didn`t answer me… And, what happened to the December report? Was it briefed already or my email is still not included among the members?

    The December report is not out yet. I suspect Eric would prefer to go to quarterly reports rather than monthly. LPP is short-handed enough as it is for the experiments, and writing reports every month eats up Eric’s time and slows things down.

    In any case, you’re on the list, so you’ll get a peak at the December report first.

    The FFS website has more detailed info than that of the LPPX website in that LPP used to just write a summary of the report, and we would put all the information broken down in articles. As for the November report, they have a more thorough posting on their site, and we put up a link to the entire technical portion as a pdf on our site.

    #9284
    AaronB
    Participant

    The report for December should be out by this weekend sometime. It was delayed for various reasons, but mostly because we wanted to include our latest test results.

    #9285
    Aeronaut
    Participant

    So a great stocking stuffer may be to hire one or two part-time interns majoring in a mix of web journalism and physics, if I understand the situation right. What would that be likely to add to the quarterly budget?

    #9289
    zapkitty
    Participant

    Speaking of wish lists and stocking stuffers…

    Of the things that need doing in addition to finishing LPPX-1… how many of those could be done or at least investigation started by interested third parties (presumably by using existing equipment and sources) without needing to wait on LPPX-1?

    #9291
    Brian H
    Participant

    AaronB wrote: The report for December should be out by this weekend sometime. It was delayed for various reasons, but mostly because we wanted to include our latest test results.

    You’re a tease, Aaron, a reeel tease! :cheese:

    Edits & qvetches:
    MTd2 , Rezwan isn’t a “he”. Look thru the Galleries, there are pix!

    Rezwan, he might get a peak out of getting a peek; possibly it will make him bark like a Peke! :coolgrin:

    Wassup with the smilies? The link/button opens a whole page, but clicking on one doesn’t actually enter it, and you have to Page Back to find your post again. Busted! >:(
    [The ones I used here are just remembered codes typed in directly.]

    #9294
    Ivy Matt
    Participant

    Rezwan wrote: The December report is not out yet. I suspect Eric would prefer to go to quarterly reports rather than monthly. LPP is short-handed enough as it is for the experiments, and writing reports every month eats up Eric’s time and slows things down.

    Ach, no! Does Eric write them himself? I thought Aaron wrote them. I might be open to bimonthly (as in bimestrial) reports, but quarterly? Leave that to the Polywell folks. ;-P

    Aeronaut wrote: So a great stocking stuffer may be to hire one or two part-time interns majoring in a mix of web journalism and physics, if I understand the situation right. What would that be likely to add to the quarterly budget?

    How about nothing? Some people would probably be willing to write the reports for free. 🙂

    #9296
    Rezwan
    Participant

    zapkitty wrote: Speaking of wish lists and stocking stuffers…

    Of the things that need doing in addition to finishing LPPX-1… how many of those could be done or at least investigation started by interested third parties (presumably by using existing equipment and sources) without needing to wait on LPPX-1?

    I like where this is going. I hear reports of a Japanese endeavor and the Iranians. There’s a big DPF in Las Vegas. To coordinate something like a multi-lab collaboration would take some doing, but may turn out to be necessary.

    #9297
    Rezwan
    Participant

    Ivy Matt wrote: How about nothing? Some people would probably be willing to write the reports for free. 🙂

    Time = money. The time taken to explain what’s going on to a pro bono writer is probably more than time taken to write the report itself. One way or another, things cost. And if they don’t cost us something, they cost the person volunteering. It’s better to say that some people might be willing to take the time and effort to write the reports without financial compensation. Don’t discount what they’re doing as “free!”

    In the nonprofit world, we put that into the budget as “in-kind donation”.

    Which reminds me, it’s time to appreciate the volunteers who have been helping with some of the work so far. I need to put together a list. Fantastic job guys!

    #9298
    Rezwan
    Participant

    We’re always looking for volunteers, and would love it if people wanted to come down here and do stuff. This would be most effective if people could come here in person. Unfortunately so far, people who want to help out are not in this area. Those who can help online have done so. What’s required is physical presence and commitment.

    I had contacted Rutgers a while ago about interns and got the following answers to some questions:

    What is a respectable wage to give the student? $10-25.00 per hour depending on the major.
    How is this handled in taxes? You will have to check with your accountant
    Would we have to deduct taxes from their wages, have them fill out a W-4 and so forth? You will have to check with your accountant

    I also got a few questions from them, such as, where will the intern work, (a dedicated office space?) and what about transport issues, and how does this work with their needs. Here they helpfully attached the “Starting an Internship Program” guide I’ve attached. A quote from it:

    An internship is any carefully monitored work or service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what she or he is learning throughout the experience.

    “Carefully monitored” was the red flag for me. Legal forms (“hold harmless” agreements) another red flag. Which underscores the idea that volunteers and interns require administration, coordination, supervision and you need to be pretty organized to be able to start using them. There’s a tipping point, I think, after which volunteers and interns are easy to incorporate into the endeavor.

    “Get interns” has been on my to do list for some time, but it requires a bit more thoughtful consideration and setup and thus keeps slipping down behind other things. I should just post something simple, offering no compensation, and see if I get any nibbles and then take it from there.

    I did have a CUNY professor express interest in internships – of course those students would have quite a commute.

    So, wishlist: More resources to enable interns and volunteers; the development of a cool, memorable, effective, fun, worthwhile, mutually beneficial volunteer and internship program, and some fabulous people signing up! And more appreciation that this isn’t “free”.

    Attached files

    Starting An Internship Program – 5th Edition.pdf (156 B) 

    #9299
    zapkitty
    Participant

    Rezwan wrote:

    Speaking of wish lists and stocking stuffers…

    Of the things that need doing in addition to finishing LPPX-1… how many of those could be done or at least investigation started by interested third parties (presumably by using existing equipment and sources) without needing to wait on LPPX-1?

    I like where this is going. I hear reports of a Japanese endeavor and the Iranians. There’s a big DPF in Las Vegas. To coordinate something like a multi-lab collaboration would take some doing, but may turn out to be necessary.

    Well… how many useful things could be investigated without using a DPF at all?

    I’m thinking of existent facilities and labs who might take an interest in various aspects of FF without needing to (or wanting to) recreate LPPX-1.

    Are there alternative x-ray sources in the energy range of those produced by FF… even if not at the fluix levels of FF?

    Alpha sources with the same caveats?

    FF-level capacitors are certainly available, but would FF-level switches also be required for proper research into that area?

    Don’t quite get electrode work without a DPF but I’m not a clever type…

    That’s the sort of thing I was thinking of.

    #9313
    vansig
    Participant

    Well… how many useful things could be investigated without using a DPF at all?

    tinkering with computer models? if there is source code available online?

    designing the exit beam energy capture? if the right magnetics modeling tools exist?

    #9314
    zapkitty
    Participant

    vansig wrote:

    Well… how many useful things could be investigated without using a DPF at all?

    tinkering with computer models? if there is source code available online?

    designing the exit beam energy capture? if the right magnetics modeling tools exist?

    I was wondering about R&D experimentation that might test its results using existing sources that are kin to what an FF is supposed to generate… even if the output isn’t to the same scale as an FF.

    Very handwavy, I know, but I had a notion that this might advance auxiliary FF research projects while LPPX-1 and successors are being worked on.

    #9337
    Allan Brewer
    Participant

    vansig wrote:

    Well… how many useful things could be investigated without using a DPF at all?

    tinkering with computer models? if there is source code available online?

    designing the exit beam energy capture? if the right magnetics modeling tools exist?

    I’m working on an in-silico simulation of exit beam energy capture right now – will report back when results are solid.

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