[AaronB]

I’m not Twitter averse, just Twitter ignorant. 🙂 Personally, now that we have the funding we need to continue operations for awhile, and since we’re making good progress, I’d prefer to slip into stealth mode, but that wouldn’t be very nice to the fans out there who get as excited about new developments as I do. So, I’ll make an honest effort to Tweet when I can.

[AaronB]

DerekShannon wrote: Eric, will LPP make inquiries with the administrators to determine whether they would consider a fusion proposal?

I would also like to check whether the applicant should do the whole fuel-making-shebang, or just needs to provide the power? Even if it’s the whole deal, it might be possible to partner with another company with that expertise. Such a company might partner with several primary applicants to increase its chances, and would therefore not need to be persuaded to partner with LPP exclusively.

I’m already in talks with a fuel producer whose technology is pretty revolutionary too. We’re going ahead with a submission whether the adminstrators will consider a fusion proposal or not. This is just a 2-page submission anyway, so that translates to one page on our energy technology and a page for the fuel project. I could write one page on Focus Fusion in my sleep at this point, and we already have several documents that we can cut down to size in about five minutes.

So, yes, we are pursuing this opportunity, even if it is a long shot. DARPA can decide what to do with it. Even without them, I’m pretty confident in our continued progress. We have enough funding in hand for several months, and the machine is working well and providing good data, so I think we’ve entered a new phase of rapid and sustainable progress. At least, that’s how it seems to me.

[AaronB]

Pure salesmanship without a product usually becomes exposed as a scam pretty quickly. All promise and no product. That’s not the way I want to roll out this technology, and I don’t think we’ll have to go that route. Things are progressing nicely, and we’re on the right track. However, I do agree that a good salesman WITH a good product is one of the keys to success.

[AaronB]

I like all the thinking and ideas being bounced around in this thread. Keep up the good work!

[AaronB]

There is a certain Uncertainty Principle that applies here. The more reporting we do, the less work we get done. However, an update is coming in the next few days.

[AaronB]

I think he was probably talking about the IEC/Polywell design, not ours. He didn’t seem to have any knowledge about Focus Fusion at all. Well, hopefully the idea was planted for him. I’m sure there were a couple of assistants there with him who were taking notes, so hopefully they go back and do some homework for him. We’ll see what comes of this. Hopefully something good. You never know.

[AaronB]

I like it! Sounds like an excellent chance to get some face time with some influential people.

[AaronB]

Hi Frank. Welcome to our site. While our fusion work is not ready for commercialization at this point, it is progressing well in the research and development phase. The quest for fusion power is becoming more serious due to the energy crisis we are facing and the lack of alternatives that can realistically replace fossil fuels. We hope you’ll dig into this a bit more. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Cheers. -Aaron

[AaronB]

We’d enjoy having Mr. Smith take a look at us and review our work. He obviously knows the potential of fusion power. His understanding of fusion principles and technologies would give him a great advantage in offering an opinion. He would have to understand that we rely on a different approach than the tokamak and other designs. We use (and encourage) instabilities in the plasma rather than try to eliminate them. That is the critical difference that gives us an advantage.

Thanks for your efforts in spreading the word!

[AaronB]

Very interesting article. I wonder what sort of optimization techniques they came up with to increase neutron production. We could use that insight as our project progresses. Is there a way to get that info?

[AaronB]

I found this on http://nextbigfuture.com/, a link to ARPA-E’s call for projects to be funded: http://arpa-e.energy.gov/keydocs/ARPA-E-FOA.PDF. The dates to send in a proposal are May 12 – June 2. Looks like they are serious.

[AaronB]

Publicly thinking outside the box can be difficult at times. It takes a thick skin to put forward a radical idea for scrutiny. Criticism is sometimes hard to take. However, one of the greatest benefits of sharing your ideas, even if they are way off base, is that creativity is contagious. An idea that doesn’t work in one circumstance might work in another, and your idea can inspire the next guy who needed that perspective. I am a big believer of casting bread upon the water, so to speak. You never know what will happen, and how your contribution could initiate some big change. I believe in random acts of kindness and paying it forward. I believe in the power of individual creativity and collective effort. That’s what the Focus Fusion Society is all about. While we rally around a particular technology, we recognize the enormous impact that breakthrough ideas can have. We recognize the need for change in the world, and we are motivated to play a part in it. By nature, those drawn to these forums are outside-the-box thinkers. While not every proposed idea will turn out to be correct, the process of stimulating conversation and examining ideas will ultimately lead to unexpected progress. We are creating a breeding ground for serendipity to occur. We are finding like-minded people from all walks of life, from various career fields, from all over the world. They all want to help in any way they can. The last few months have been amazing, and hopefully the next year will continue to bring amazing progress and surprises. It’s fun to be along for the ride. 🙂

[AaronB]

“The underlying mechanism of boron’s superconductivity arises from its crystal structure under high pressure.”
“At 160 gigapascals, they found that boron is a superconductor up to 6 kelvin.”

Thanks for the suggestion, but we will be working with an extremely hot hydrogen-boron plasma instead of a super-chilled solid chunk of boron. However, don’t let that discourage you from thinking outside of the box. That’s where all of the really interesting discoveries come from!

[AaronB]

Axil wrote:
To leave planet Earth an escape velocity of 11.2 km/s is required, that escape velocity for Earth (to escape its “gravity well”) is about 25,000 mph (or 36, 700 ft per second).

It is impossible to achieve that velocity passing through the lower levels of the earth’s atmosphere because of the fictional heat generated by passage through that dense layer of air beginning at 15,000 feet elevation that your plan would entail. That fictional heating would vaporize all known materials.

The consequence is that the waste package would vaporize and radioactive vapor would contaminant Colombia and the other surrounding nations. I am sorry to have disabused you of your fantasy.

I anticipated a bit of material would be lost from the nose cone. The whole capsule would be made of an encased uranium rod and a ceramic nose cone that would be very pointy and long, allowing several inches to burn away as it exited the atmosphere. Since uranium is so dense and heavy, the rod wouldn’t have to be very big to weigh 500 lbs. The whole thing would be probably 25 ft. long and 1 ft. in diameter, and a good portion of the length would be the nose cone. Also, there would be a lot of testing with non-hazardous materials before uranium was used. I’m not saying that this would be completely easy to do, but engineers are smart. If given the challenge and resources, they could come up with a way to make it work. It could also open up a whole new level of access to space.

[AaronB]

Radioactive waste is a big problem, but I have a possible solution. I think we could install big accelerator tracks on the sides of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. Then we take 500 lb. capsules of radioactive waste and shoot them into the sun. We could also shoot things into other parts of the solar system as the earth turns. It would be easy enought to do the timing, and a little bit of directional control while still in the atmosphere could do most of the course correcting. Each day, you could probably shoot 10,000 lbs. into the sun. That’s only 20 shots, which should be easy to do in 10 minutes. The technology is the same as the high speed roller coaster rides, only the track would be two miles in length. When it wasn’t shooting payloads into space, it could shoot people into the stratosphere on suborbital joyrides. Colombia could make a fortune getting rid of other countries’ waste, and get a booming tourist industry as well.

[Author]

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