New LPPX update: 13 torr and rising…

[zapkitty]

http://www.lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/index.php?option=com_lyftenbloggie&view=entry&year=2010&month=11&day=11&id=18:progress-and-a-good-report&Itemid=90

… so perhaps turbomolecular pumps not needed for production units?

[Aeronaut]

Impurities= uncertainties. TMPs are not a good place to cut costs, imo.

[zapkitty]

Aeronaut wrote: Impurities= uncertainties. TMPs are not a good place to cut costs, imo.

I know, you get into a question of purge costs vs TMP costs… but it might be a discussion worth having.

[Aeronaut]

zapkitty wrote:

Impurities= uncertainties. TMPs are not a good place to cut costs, imo.

I know, you get into a question of purge costs vs TMP costs… but it might be a discussion worth having.

I agree, could lead to the good, better, best, bestest, most bestest marketing strategy. I used to work near vacuum pumps (not TMPs) which could quickly put a serious vacuum in the FF chamber. They are anything but small, light, or cheap, they make a lot of heat, and need at least one overhaul per year. I hate to imagine what all the specs are for a Turbo Molecular Pump that could handle even a 300 hz trigger rate.

I have a hunch this can be answered in the scientific, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing mindsets, lol.

[Brian H]

This was full of news — glad to see Aaron and Derek joining the staff full-time. Was impressed with Derek’s full list of qualifications; hadn’t seen that before.
Also interesting was the reference to the X-Scan potential application; wasn’t sure if that was still in the cards.

Review by Dr. Brown of Swathmore for Abell: nothing stated directly, but I infer that they may be considering whether to expand their investment. Don’t know the terms of the existing arrangement, though, so that may not be the case.

[Ivy Matt]

Don’t laugh, but my favorite part was that bit about the new lens. I’m looking forward to seeing images with 30-micron resolution.

I hope the new spark plug design holds up. I’m wondering how much “new engineering” is coming out of this experiment.

Good to see that X-Scan looks viable. Hopefully scientific (or wall-plug efficiency) breakeven will be demonstrated before X-Scan production begins, but if not, another source of revenue is always a good thing to have. I wonder if typical ion energies can be inferred from X-ray energies…

[Author]

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